Bell Harp
about 1760 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Simcock of Kingsmead St., Bath (active 1760-1770), advertised himself in the Bath Journal (3rd October 1763) as the 'inventor and maker of the English Harp'. This instrument, also known as the 'Bell Harp' or 'Fairy Bells', was held at both sides by the player, who plucked the strings with his thumb. At the same time he would swing and even rotate the instument, so as to give it an undulating tone and increase or diminish the volume. The 'Bell Harp' was played for domestic entertainment, and it survived into the early 20th century, as a street musician's isntrument in England and France.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed carved pine boards and covers, metal strings |
| Brief description | Bell Harp, pine, by John Simcock of Bath, English, about 1760. |
| Physical description | "A stout board of pine, narrowing a little towards one end and left rough on the outside, is mounted with two shallow sides and a central partition plank, and also with two straight hitch-rails which are placed obliquely, rising from the wider end towards the partition. At the narrow end is a wide wrest plank with pins for the wire strings, which run down to hitch pins in the bridges. There are also small individual hitch blocks for certain strings. The strings run in triple or quadruple courses. The strings and hitch-rails are concealed by two pine cover-plates which slide in grooves in the sides and the partition, to be removable from the wide end of the instrument. These cover plates leave the upper ends of the strings exposed. The wide end (which is the bottom of the instrument as it is played) is left open." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), pp. 74-75. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Bath. John Simcock. Inventor and Maker. (Printed label inside the instrument.) |
| Gallery label | BELL HARP
English
By John Simcock, Bath, about 1730
The printed label reads, Bath. John Simcock. Inventor & Maker
Pine structure and iron wrest pins.
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 15/7
The player held this instrument with both hands near the bottom, plucking the longer strings with his left thumb and the shorter ones with his right one or a plectrum. At the same time he would swing the instrument to give it an undulating tone.
240-1882.(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This instrument was part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882) and was bought by this Museum in 1882 for £3. |
| Summary | John Simcock of Kingsmead St., Bath (active 1760-1770), advertised himself in the Bath Journal (3rd October 1763) as the 'inventor and maker of the English Harp'. This instrument, also known as the 'Bell Harp' or 'Fairy Bells', was held at both sides by the player, who plucked the strings with his thumb. At the same time he would swing and even rotate the instument, so as to give it an undulating tone and increase or diminish the volume. The 'Bell Harp' was played for domestic entertainment, and it survived into the early 20th century, as a street musician's isntrument in England and France. |
| Bibliographic references |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 240-1882 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
