Milanese Mandolin
1752 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The 'Milanese' mandoline was tuned like a lute (and similar to a guitar), unlike its more familiar 'Neapolitan' counterpart, which was tuned like a violin. The 'Milanese' version would originally have been used to play music by Vivaldi and his contemporaries in the 1730s, whereas the 'Neapolitan' had largely replaced it by the 1780s. By 1752, the date this instrument was made, frets were more often metal and fixed permanently to the fingerboard rather than made with gut and replaced when worn out.
Nicholas Lambert (d. 1761) was probably Paris's leading maker of smaller stringed instruments in his day, and his wife carried on his business after his death, until 1789.
It was fashionable in Europe to employ black servants and dress them in outlandish, non-European costumes, like the figure on the finial of this instrument.
Nicholas Lambert (d. 1761) was probably Paris's leading maker of smaller stringed instruments in his day, and his wife carried on his business after his death, until 1789.
It was fashionable in Europe to employ black servants and dress them in outlandish, non-European costumes, like the figure on the finial of this instrument.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed ivory with ebony stringing, planed pine and pireced parchment, carved ebony and ivory finial |
| Brief description | Mandore (Milanese Mandolin), made by Jean Nicholas Lambert, Paris, 1752 |
| Physical description | "Body of thirteen ivory ribs with thin ebony stringing between, the lines carrying on up the neck. The lace is of ebony. The belly has a parchment rose surrounded by a ring of mother-of-pearl and ebony chequers which ehco the purfling. The bridge terminates in applied fretted ebony scrolls. The ebony fingerboard has ten silver frets. The pegbox has a finial in the form of a Moor's head, of ebony with an ivory turban. There are eleven pegs, for six courses of strings, the first single, the rest double". (Baines, Anthony. Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part II: Non-Keyboard Instruments . London, 1998, pp. 38 - 39.) While the term 'moor' has been used in this record, it has since fallen from usage. The term is repeated in this record in its original historic context. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'J.Lambert/ Rue Michel le Comte, Paris/ 1752' (Label printed, last two digits written in ink.) |
| Gallery label | MANDORE (Milanese Mandolin)
French
By Jean Nicholas Lambert, Paris, 1752
Body of ivory ribs with ebony stringing, ebony fingerboard and pegboard, terminating in a Moor's head.
Inscribed J.N.Lambert/ Rue Michel le Comte, Paris/ 1752
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 8/4
Nicholas Lambert made violins, guitars, citterns and a viola d'amore (also in the V&A collections). He worked in Paris from about 1743 until his death, supposedly in 1761, after which his widow continued the business until about 1785.
503-1868(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This instrument was bought for £7 - 7 - 0 at the Marquess d' Azeglio's sale in March 1868. |
| Summary | The 'Milanese' mandoline was tuned like a lute (and similar to a guitar), unlike its more familiar 'Neapolitan' counterpart, which was tuned like a violin. The 'Milanese' version would originally have been used to play music by Vivaldi and his contemporaries in the 1730s, whereas the 'Neapolitan' had largely replaced it by the 1780s. By 1752, the date this instrument was made, frets were more often metal and fixed permanently to the fingerboard rather than made with gut and replaced when worn out. Nicholas Lambert (d. 1761) was probably Paris's leading maker of smaller stringed instruments in his day, and his wife carried on his business after his death, until 1789. It was fashionable in Europe to employ black servants and dress them in outlandish, non-European costumes, like the figure on the finial of this instrument. |
| Bibliographic reference | Baines, Anthony. Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part II: Non-Keyboard Instruments. London, 1998, pp. 38 - 39. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 503-1868 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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