Swedish Theorbo
1795 - 1810 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Swedish theorbos, also known as 'Swedish lutes', were developed during the 1770s as a combination of cittern and lute. They were fitted with eight single strings, either gut or wire, and an additional seven unstopped strings in the bass. This instrument was popular in Sweden between about 1780 and 1820, and was mostly played in domestic settings. After the lifting of a sixty-year ban on the import of foreign musical instruments in 1816, the Swedish theorbo was superceded by the six-string Spanish guitar, which was far easier to tune and play.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed and joined pine belly; joined and planed birch wood back and sides; carved boxwood rosette; planed ebony fingerboard with brass frets; planed ebony frets (on soundboard) |
| Brief description | Swedish theorbo, birchwood back and sides, Swedish, 1795-1810. |
| Physical description | "Asymmetrical body with straight sides and an arched back consisiting of ribs of birchwood. The pine belly has an inserted rose carved in boxwood. The bridge is glued well to the bass side of the belly and has fifteen holes for strings, equally spaced. The neck, rising from towards the treble side of the body, has an ebony fingerboard with nine brass frets and there are seven ebony frets glued to the belly. There are three holes in the neck for attaching a capotasto". - Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 36. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This instrument formed part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882) and was bought by this museum in 1882 for £4. |
| Summary | Swedish theorbos, also known as 'Swedish lutes', were developed during the 1770s as a combination of cittern and lute. They were fitted with eight single strings, either gut or wire, and an additional seven unstopped strings in the bass. This instrument was popular in Sweden between about 1780 and 1820, and was mostly played in domestic settings. After the lifting of a sixty-year ban on the import of foreign musical instruments in 1816, the Swedish theorbo was superceded by the six-string Spanish guitar, which was far easier to tune and play. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 212-1882 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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