Guitar
1840-1860 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This unsigned and undated instrument was very likely made in Germany between about 1840 and 1860. The use of inlaid decoration on the finger board, and the design of the bridge and the peghead all indicate German workmanship. The rich embellishments on this example indicate that it was more likely made for a well-to-do amateur than for a professional musician.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed, joined and stained sycamore back and sides; planed pine sound board, purfled with pearwood inlaid with mother of pearl; ebony finger board with brass frets and inlaid of mother of pearl; rose with mother of pearl fretwork |
| Brief description | Guitar, stained sycamore and pine, with pearwood and mother of pearl inlay, German, about 1840 to 1860. |
| Physical description | ''Body with undulating outline. Arched back of dark-stained sycamore (?) painted over black. Similar sides. Belly of two pieces of pine, bordered with pearwood inlaid with floral fretwork [in metal and mother-of-pearl]. Plain neck, with ebony fingerboard inlaid at the end with a floral design of mother-of-pearl. Twenty brass frets of flat strip, and machine head for six strings." - Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 61. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Repaired by J.G.Winder, Kentish Town Rd., London 1900. (Printed on the repairer's note inside the instrument.) |
| Object history | This instrument was bought by the Museum for £8 - 8 - 0 (£8.40p) from Mrs Lillyan Howard Head. |
| Production | Originally thought by Anthony Baines to be 'probably Italian', it is now thought more likely to be German, owimg to various characteristics ranging from the design of the peghead to the use of inlay on the fingerboard. |
| Summary | This unsigned and undated instrument was very likely made in Germany between about 1840 and 1860. The use of inlaid decoration on the finger board, and the design of the bridge and the peghead all indicate German workmanship. The rich embellishments on this example indicate that it was more likely made for a well-to-do amateur than for a professional musician. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 61 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 916-1902 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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