Treble Recorder
ca. 1730 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Just Schuchart (active 1726-1756) was a London-based wind instrument maker, who probably came from Germany. During his lifetime, the soft-sounding treble recorder was still widely used in musical ensembles, but by the end of the 18th century it had beern largely replaced by the flute, which had a more penetrating sound. This recorder is made of boxwood, a reddish and densely grained wood, often used for making wind instruments during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | turned boxwood tubing, turned ivory mounts |
| Brief description | Treble recorder, boxwood with ivory mounts, J.Schuchart, English, about 1730. |
| Physical description | "Boxwood in three joints, ivory mounted. The main joint has been cut down by about 14 mm, evidently with the intention of sharpening the instrument by about a semitone." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 86 |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | I/Schuchart (Stamped below the whistle-vent of the mouthpiece and in the middle of the main joint.) |
| Gallery label | TREBLE RECORDER
By Johan Schuchart, London, about 1730
Ivory, with the three joints, each stamped I/Schuchart
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 20/4
Johan Schuchart made flutes, recorders and oboes in London and was claimed by his son to have expanded the lower range of the flute.
287-1882(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This instrument formed part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818 - 1882) and was bought by this Museum in 1882 for £1-10-0 (£1.50). |
| Summary | John Just Schuchart (active 1726-1756) was a London-based wind instrument maker, who probably came from Germany. During his lifetime, the soft-sounding treble recorder was still widely used in musical ensembles, but by the end of the 18th century it had beern largely replaced by the flute, which had a more penetrating sound. This recorder is made of boxwood, a reddish and densely grained wood, often used for making wind instruments during the 17th and 18th centuries. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 86 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 287-1882 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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