Neck of Guitar
1627 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The body of this guitar has long been lost but its neck survives owing to its fine decoration. The back is veneered with ebony inlaid with ivory grotesques and other ornaments, and the fingerboard with mother-of-pearl plaques depicting the Four Elements (Earth, Water, Fire and Air). Boxwood frets were crudely inserted at a later date. This guitar was made in 1627 by Giorgio Sellas (active 1620 - 1643), the brother of Matteo (active 1612-1641) and a member of an important family of luthiers of German origins who lived in Venice.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Neck of guitar with ebony veneer, engraved with ivory ornaments on the back; veneered with ebony and engraved mother-of-pearl plaques on the fingerboard, with boxwood frets inserted. |
| Brief description | Neck of guitar, with mother-of-pearl plaques representing the Four Seasons, Giorgio Sellas, Venice, Italian,1627. |
| Physical description | "A finely decorated piece, with panels of mother-of-pearl on the fingerboard, engraved with figures of the Elements, and marquetry decoration in ivory on an ebony ground on the back of the neck, consisting of grotesque figures. The flat, shaped head has holes for ten pegs. Boxwood frets have later been added to the fingerboard." Anthony Baines,Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 63. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Giorgio Sellas/ Alla Stella / in Venetia/ 1627/ Fe[cit]. (Engraved in ink on a mother of pearl plaque on the headstock of the instrument.)
|
| Gallery label | NECK OF A GUITAR
Giorgio Sellas, 1627 (Venetian)
Inscribed Giorgio Sellas/ Alla Stella/ in Venetia 1627/ Fe
Ebony neck, mother of pearl finger board, engraved with figures from the elements.
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 12/15
Giorgio Sellas, is the brother of Matteo, who produced a large number of prestigious lutes and guitars in Venice from the 1620s until the 1650s. Judging from the decoration, it would seem that this instrument would have been made for a rich dilettanti rather than a professional musician.
358-1896(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This guitar neck was sold to the museum for £6 in 1896 by J.S.Lawrence, Laburnum House, Torre, Torquay |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The body of this guitar has long been lost but its neck survives owing to its fine decoration. The back is veneered with ebony inlaid with ivory grotesques and other ornaments, and the fingerboard with mother-of-pearl plaques depicting the Four Elements (Earth, Water, Fire and Air). Boxwood frets were crudely inserted at a later date. This guitar was made in 1627 by Giorgio Sellas (active 1620 - 1643), the brother of Matteo (active 1612-1641) and a member of an important family of luthiers of German origins who lived in Venice. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 65. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 358-1896 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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