Kit
1700-1725 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Kits were small, narrow versions of violins, often played by dancing masters before demonstrating a particular step. One recorded virtuoso of this instrument was Francis Pemberton who flourished in England in the 1760s and was "able to play solos on [the kit], exhibiting all the graces and elegancies of the violin". This instrument is probably German, decorated in a vernacular style and may well have been used as a folk instrument.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | carved boxwood body, planed and stained oak fingerboard. |
| Brief description | Carved boxwood, German or Swiss, about 1700 - 1725. |
| Physical description | 'Narrow shape with out-swelling lower part. Body of boxwood, crudely carved in relief with small figures, musical instruments and animals. The f-holes recall those of a violin. The stained oak fingerboard is inlaid with a simple pattern in light wood. The finial is shaped like a fish's head.' - 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 was bought by this museum for £6 from Herr Joseph Schreyer, Crefeld, Germany, in 1882. |
| Production | Anthony Baines described it as 'German or Swiss; first half of the eighteenth century'. Its provenance was German and the instrument itself was thought to be 'probably German', when acquired in 1882. |
| Summary | Kits were small, narrow versions of violins, often played by dancing masters before demonstrating a particular step. One recorded virtuoso of this instrument was Francis Pemberton who flourished in England in the 1760s and was "able to play solos on [the kit], exhibiting all the graces and elegancies of the violin". This instrument is probably German, decorated in a vernacular style and may well have been used as a folk instrument. |
| 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 | 457-1882 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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