Kit
ca. 1750 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Kits were small and narrow variants of violins. They were known as pochettes in France because they could easily be fitted in the coat-pocket of a dancing master, who would play briefly on this instrument, slip it into his pocket and then demonstrate the appropriate steps. One recorded virtuoso of this instrument was Francis Pemberton, a dancing master who flourished in the 1760s and was said to be able to make the kit sound as pleasing as the violin.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Tortoise-shell body, pine belly and ivory tuning pegs. |
| Brief description | Kit, Tortoise-shell body, pine belly and ivory tuning pegs, made ca.1750, France |
| Physical description | 'Narrow model, with the body of tortoise-shell bent round and shaped to five faces, and a silver cap at the end riveted in place. Belly with heart-shaped sound hole and two inward-facing C-holes. The peg box has a finial, now partly missing, in the form of a man with a moustache and inlaid mother-of-pearl eyes. Four ivory pegs.' Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 22. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This instrument formed part of the collections of Carl Engel and was valued at £2 - 10 - 0 when acquired by the South Kensington Museum in 1882. |
| Summary | Kits were small and narrow variants of violins. They were known as pochettes in France because they could easily be fitted in the coat-pocket of a dancing master, who would play briefly on this instrument, slip it into his pocket and then demonstrate the appropriate steps. One recorded virtuoso of this instrument was Francis Pemberton, a dancing master who flourished in the 1760s and was said to be able to make the kit sound as pleasing as the violin. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 22. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 166-1882 |
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| Record created | April 4, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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