Flute
ca. 1700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Pierre Jaiilard Bressan (1663-1731) came from France and settled in London in 1688, where he made all types of wind instruments and published music until 1730. In 1691 he accompanied William III (reigned 1688-1702) to Holland as one of the hautboys, or oboe-players, in his retinue. On his death in May 1731, the London press hailed Bressan as 'that celebrated artist in making flutes'. This flute is a particularly fine example of his work, made of ebony ornately inlaid with silver wire.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Turned ebony, inlaid with silver filigree in scroll patterns, with five silver mounts |
| Brief description | English, 1720-25, Pierre Bressan |
| Physical description | Flute of ebony in four pieces mounted in silver. The mouth-hole, the six finger-holes and the divisions between the parts are decorated in inlaid silver wire with bands of interlacing scrolls enriched with annulets, dots and other devices; the centre of each portion is similarly ornamented. The flute has one silver key. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | P.I./Bressan (On each of the four joints; stamped) |
| Gallery label | FLUTE
P. J. Bressan; about 1720
Stamped P. I. Bressan
Ebony, in four joints, inlaid with silver wire.
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 22/1
By the early 1720s the flute had acquired four joints, allowing for different sizes and pitches.
Pierre Jaillard Bressan, was born in France in 1663 and settled in England in 1688. When he died in Tournai in 1731, the London newspapers referred to him as "that celebrated artist in making flutes".
452-1898(pre September 2000) |
| Credit line | Given by Alfred Branton Esq. |
| Object history | Bought for £3 from Alfred Branton, East Dulwich. Condition: 'one piece split and portion of inlay missing', 'In a case covered with fish-skin and fitted with a lock and hasp, two catches and a drop handle.' RF 91800/1898, 25375/1898 and 24781/1898 In 1978 a report on the instrument with measurements and photographs was compiled by Deirdre Daines, London; a scanned copy is retained on the dept object file. |
| Summary | Pierre Jaiilard Bressan (1663-1731) came from France and settled in London in 1688, where he made all types of wind instruments and published music until 1730. In 1691 he accompanied William III (reigned 1688-1702) to Holland as one of the hautboys, or oboe-players, in his retinue. On his death in May 1731, the London press hailed Bressan as 'that celebrated artist in making flutes'. This flute is a particularly fine example of his work, made of ebony ornately inlaid with silver wire. |
| Bibliographic reference | London, Victoria & Albert Museum: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Part II, Anthony Baines: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 91 - 92.
This instrument, one of the two known extant flutes by Bressan, is fully described by E. Halfpenny in Galpin Society Journal, XIII, 1960. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 452-1898 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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