Baryton, carved sycamore, with engraved ivory and tortoiseshell veneer, made by Jacques Sainprae, Berlin, about 1720

'Pine belly with 'comma' soundholes and double purfling. Back of sycamore. The body shape is without lower corners at the waist and with a two-lobed bottom. The finely carved neck, with masks on either side at the root, has a top face veneered with engraved ivory, the whole pierced to form a wavy floral scroll pattern. The partitioned pegbox has the sides carved in relief with acanthus bordering, and the back pierced and carved with fine floral scrolls and strapwork. The finial is a carved figure of Orpheus playing a lyre, with putti below. Of six original pegs for the playing strings, two have been removed and their holes filled. Wrest pins for twenty-five wire sympathetic strings are distributed across both halves of the pegbox. The wires run to an oblique fixed bridge with hitch-rail immediately below. Tailpiece, attached to an asymmetrically placed hook-bar, and fingerboard are decorated with marquetry of engraved ivory on tortoiseshell with figures in classical dress, and with strapwork.'

Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-Keyboard Instruments (London, 1978), pp. 12-13.

There is no existing confirmation of an earlier statement that this baryton belonged to J. J. Quantz (1697-1773), the celebrated flute-master to Frederick the Great.

This instrument was purchased from a Mr W. Chaffers for £75 in July 1875.

This baryton was made by Jacques Sainprae of Berlin in about 1720. Sainprae was most likely of French Huguenot origin, but this is the only surviving instrument to bear his signature, and nothing else is known about him. However, this example is made to the highest standard, and the exquisitely carved finial represents Orpheus playing a lyre. The ornament is related to the numerous patterns for Laub und Bandelwerk (a late phase of strapwork coupled with floral motifs, the equivalent of Régence ornament in France).

The baryton was a central European instrument that enjoyed a vogue between about 1640 and 1800. The most famous baryton composer was Josef Haydn (1732-1809) who wrote a large number of pieces for his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy (1714-1790), a Hungarian nobleman and an enthusiastic amateur player.

1444-1870