Oboe
about 1760 - 1790 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Richard Potter (1728 - 1806) founded an important London firm of wind instrument makers, which lasted from about 1745 until 1848. During the 18th century, these types of instruments were often made of boxwood, a hard, close-grained wood well-suited to turning. This example has a straight upper-joint, a characteristic of English oboes made between about 1760 and 1790. The oboe is a reed instrument, developed by Jean Hotteterre (active 1650 - 1690) in France, and the word derives from the French term hautbois, meaning 'loud wood'.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | turned and stained boxwood; brass keys. |
| Brief description | Oboe, English, three joints of boxwood with brass key, by Richard Potter, about 1760 - 1790. |
| Physical description | "Stained boxwood in three joints, unmounted. The profile of the upper joint is straight throughout, tapering upwards. Two round brass keys. Two double holes. The bell has two vent holes and an internal flange. The straight turning of the upper joint is common in English oboes of about 1760-1790, though not found in Continental instruments". - Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), pp. 96-97. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Potter London (Stamped on the bell-joint.) |
| Object history | This instrument was purchased by the Museum for 5 shillings (£0.25) in 1882. It had been part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882), an eminent musicologist from Hanover, who published the Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum in 1874. The South Kensington Museum has been known as the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1899. |
| Summary | Richard Potter (1728 - 1806) founded an important London firm of wind instrument makers, which lasted from about 1745 until 1848. During the 18th century, these types of instruments were often made of boxwood, a hard, close-grained wood well-suited to turning. This example has a straight upper-joint, a characteristic of English oboes made between about 1760 and 1790. The oboe is a reed instrument, developed by Jean Hotteterre (active 1650 - 1690) in France, and the word derives from the French term hautbois, meaning 'loud wood'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), pp. 96-97. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 288-1882 |
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| Record created | June 11, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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