Cornemuse, Ivory pipes and figured silk bag, French, about 1750-1770.

'Ivory pipes comprising chanter and a small drone placed alongside it. On the ivory stock which holds these, a carved ivory plaque of a dancing couple with a musician seated on a platform supported on barrels, playing an oboe. On the reverse side an embossed silver plaque with an almost identical scene. On the back of the chater, an oval silver plaque with an [unidentified] coat of arms.
No keys. Ivory blow-pipe. Bag covered with figured silk (French, of the third quarter of the eingteenth century), trimmed with metal lace.' Anthony Baines:Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), pp. 102-103.

This item was bought by the South Kensington Museum for £17 - 17 - 0 (£17.85) in 1898.

The cornemuse is a French bagpipe, which was played in courtly circles from about 1670, with pieces written for it by Jean Philippe Rameau (1683–1764). It has a much softer and more flute-like sound than the more familiar Scottish version of this instrument. The windbag is made of air-tight, greased silk, covered with layers of silk, and the mouthpiece, chanter and drone are made of ivory.

523-1898