Bentside Spinet thumbnail 1
Bentside Spinet thumbnail 2
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This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Bentside Spinet

1758 (made)
Artist/Maker
Crang, John (maker)
Place of origin
London (made)

John Crang (active 1742-1792) was based in London and regarded as one of the finest builders of spinets and organs in his day. Spinets are smaller, wing-shaped versions of harpsichords, and were first made by Girolamo Zenti (d. 1668) in Italy in the 1630s. Unlike the virginal, the spinet has its jack-rail running parallel to and its strings at a diagonal to the keyboard, making it easier to play the all the notes with the same pressure. Despite Crang's reputation, a note was found inside this instrument, written by a certain Mrs Weston, who complained that her spinet was 'so bad that [she] cant [sic] play upon it'.

Object details

Category
Musical Instruments
Object type
Bentside spinet
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Spinet
  • Key
  • Prop Stick
Materials and techniques
Burr walnut- and unfigured walnut-veneered pine case, planed spruce soundboard with gilt mouldings and painted arabesques along the edges, and carved beech bridge
Walnut
Spruce
Beech
Ebony
Ivory
Pine
Veneering
Planing
Painting
Gilding
Brief description
Bentside spinet, English, case veneered with burr walnut and unfigured walnut, by John Crang, 1758.
Physical description
Bentside spinet, with a range of 61 notes, GG-g3. The pine case is veneered with burr walnut panels, crossbanded with unfigured walnut, and decorated with ebony and boxwood stringing. The nameboard is decorated with a trophy of musical instruments in marquetry. The spruce soundboard is surrounded by gilt mouldings and painted arabesques. The sharps are ebony and the naturals are ivory-covered, with arcading at the front.
Dimensions
  • Length: 183cm
  • Height: 20.5cm
  • Weight: 35kg
Taken from Raymond Russell: Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Musical Instruments. Volume I. Keyboard Instruments. (London, 1968), pp. 52-53. Weighed at 33.5 kg by Ray Powell, 11/04/13.
Marks and inscriptions
  • Musica Laborum Dulve Levamen (Inscribed in ink on the name board.)
    Translation
    Music is the sweet relief to labours.
  • 1758 (Inscribed in ink beneath the trophy of musical instruments on the nameboard)
  • Mrs Weston desires [Mr] / Crang will call to [morrow] / by Eleven o clock [without] fail / the Spinet [is] / so bad she cant [play] / upon it / Tuesd [ay] (Written in ink on a piece of playing card folded and glued to the balance rail, beneath the keys. (Howard Schott in Catalogue of Musical instruments ... (p. 82) thinks Mrs Weston may be refering to another instrument))
  • CRang Londini fecit (Inscribed in ink beneath the trophy on the nameboard.)
    Translation
    Crang made this in London
Gallery label
(pre September 2000)
SPINET
English
By John Crang, London, 1758
Inscribed Crang Londini Fecit and above Musica Laborum Dulce Levamen [Music, sweet relief to cares]
The sharps are ebony and the naturals ivory.
The instrument's range is GG - g3.

Keyboard Catalogue No.: 27

John Arnold in his Compleat Psalmody (London, 1761) ranked Crang among the best spinet builders. However, the owner of this example, a Mrs Weston complained that it "was so bad she cant a[play] it!" Crang built the chamber organ of Fonthill Splendens and a claviorganum (Harpsichord-cum-organ) for Carshalton Park, Surrey.

Bequeathed by Miss C. A. R. Adams.

W.16-1947
Credit line
Bequeathed to the Museum by Miss C.A.R.Adams
Object history
Bequeathed to the Museum by Miss C.A.R. Adams.
Subject depicted
Trophy
Summary
John Crang (active 1742-1792) was based in London and regarded as one of the finest builders of spinets and organs in his day. Spinets are smaller, wing-shaped versions of harpsichords, and were first made by Girolamo Zenti (d. 1668) in Italy in the 1630s. Unlike the virginal, the spinet has its jack-rail running parallel to and its strings at a diagonal to the keyboard, making it easier to play the all the notes with the same pressure. Despite Crang's reputation, a note was found inside this instrument, written by a certain Mrs Weston, who complained that her spinet was 'so bad that [she] cant [sic] play upon it'.
Bibliographic references
  • Raymond Russell: Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Musical Instruments. Volume I. Keyboard Instruments. (London, 1968), pp. 52-53
  • Howard Schott: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part I: Keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), pp. 81-82.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.16:1,2-1947

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Record createdMay 16, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O58909/bentside-spinet-crang-john/
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