Virginal
1655 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
A virginal works on the same principal as a harpsichord and spinet. It is played with keys, which activate quills that pluck the strings, and has a range of 51 notes.
Subjects Depicted
The soundboard is decorated with flowers and birds based on designs in the Florilegium by the Flemish engraver Adrian Collaert (around 1550-1618). The insides of the lids are decorated with the story of Adam and Eve, as well as hunting, maritime and pastoral scenes.
Materials & Making
The soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge of walnut, and the lid and case of oak. The naturals (the paler keys) are covered with boxwood, their edges with embossed paper, and the sharps and flats (the darker keys) with stained hardwood.
The decoration was painted in gouache, an opaque watercolour.
Time
During the Commonwealth music was banned from churches but it still flourished in private houses and even at the court. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658, employed a certain John Hingston as his Master of Music for £100 a year. He is also known to have entertained distinguished foreign visitors with music during meals.
People
John Loosemore was the leading organ builder of Exeter, Devon. Although the city had suffered greatly during the Civil War of 1642-1646, Loosemore was able to make his living during the Commonwealth. He produced virginals and other keyboard instruments for the more prosperous citizens. Prices would probably have started at about £5, the sum the diarist Samuel Pepys paid for a spinet in 1668.
A virginal works on the same principal as a harpsichord and spinet. It is played with keys, which activate quills that pluck the strings, and has a range of 51 notes.
Subjects Depicted
The soundboard is decorated with flowers and birds based on designs in the Florilegium by the Flemish engraver Adrian Collaert (around 1550-1618). The insides of the lids are decorated with the story of Adam and Eve, as well as hunting, maritime and pastoral scenes.
Materials & Making
The soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge of walnut, and the lid and case of oak. The naturals (the paler keys) are covered with boxwood, their edges with embossed paper, and the sharps and flats (the darker keys) with stained hardwood.
The decoration was painted in gouache, an opaque watercolour.
Time
During the Commonwealth music was banned from churches but it still flourished in private houses and even at the court. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658, employed a certain John Hingston as his Master of Music for £100 a year. He is also known to have entertained distinguished foreign visitors with music during meals.
People
John Loosemore was the leading organ builder of Exeter, Devon. Although the city had suffered greatly during the Civil War of 1642-1646, Loosemore was able to make his living during the Commonwealth. He produced virginals and other keyboard instruments for the more prosperous citizens. Prices would probably have started at about £5, the sum the diarist Samuel Pepys paid for a spinet in 1668.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Oak case, enclosing virginal of spruce, walnut, boxwood, ebonised oak, gilded paper, iron and mirror glass; decoration painted in gouache |
| Brief description | Virginal, John Loosemore, Exeter, 1655 |
| Physical description | Virginal in an oak case. The fancy hinges and hasps are of iron. The inner surfaces of both lid and drop-front contain decorative paintings, with scenes of a stag hunt, shipping, Adam and Eve, and various birds, in a country setting. The front of the virginal and the interior are covered with embossed and gilded paper. A small panel of mirror glass is set above the keys. On the front of the jack-rail is inscribed 'John Loosemore fecit 1655'. The soundboard bears decoration in tempera and contains two ornamental roses. The naturals are of boxwood and the accidentals are of stained wood. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | On front of jack rail inscribed: John Loosemore Fecit 1655 |
| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Made in Exeter by John Loosemore (born in Bishop's Nympton, Devon, about 1613, died in Exeter, Devon, 1681) |
| Summary | Object Type A virginal works on the same principal as a harpsichord and spinet. It is played with keys, which activate quills that pluck the strings, and has a range of 51 notes. Subjects Depicted The soundboard is decorated with flowers and birds based on designs in the Florilegium by the Flemish engraver Adrian Collaert (around 1550-1618). The insides of the lids are decorated with the story of Adam and Eve, as well as hunting, maritime and pastoral scenes. Materials & Making The soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge of walnut, and the lid and case of oak. The naturals (the paler keys) are covered with boxwood, their edges with embossed paper, and the sharps and flats (the darker keys) with stained hardwood. The decoration was painted in gouache, an opaque watercolour. Time During the Commonwealth music was banned from churches but it still flourished in private houses and even at the court. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658, employed a certain John Hingston as his Master of Music for £100 a year. He is also known to have entertained distinguished foreign visitors with music during meals. People John Loosemore was the leading organ builder of Exeter, Devon. Although the city had suffered greatly during the Civil War of 1642-1646, Loosemore was able to make his living during the Commonwealth. He produced virginals and other keyboard instruments for the more prosperous citizens. Prices would probably have started at about £5, the sum the diarist Samuel Pepys paid for a spinet in 1668. |
| Bibliographic reference | Frederick Litchfield, Illustrated History of Furniture From the Earliest to the Present Time. 4th ed. London and New York, 1899, illustrated p. 172. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 813-1873 |
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| Record created | April 2, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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