Not on display

Dital-Harp

about 1819 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Light, Edward (Made)
Place of origin
London (Made)

By about 1820 Edward Light (c.1747-c.1832) had brought out a number of harp-variants including a 'dital harp', which could be fitted with as many as nineteen 'ditals' or hand-operated levers, although this example has only thirteen. Light made these elegant instruments fashionable amongst ladies, largely through connections with his pupil, Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), daughter of the Prince Regent and an enthusiastic player of harp-variants.

Object details

Category
Musical Instruments
Object type
Dital-harp
Materials and techniques
Planed, gilded and painted wooden soundboard and ribs; ebony fingerboard with metal frets.
Wood
Ebony
Planing
Joining
Painting
Gilding
Brief description
Dital harp painted and gilded, Edward Light, London, English, about 1819.
Physical description
"Body, similar to the preceding [i.e. Harp-lute by Edward Light, Museum no. 37-1873 - "body of seven ribs, with two sound slots in the centre rib".] painted dark blue, edged with gold decoration ... A base with moulded composition embellishment allows the instrument to stand up. The pin bridge is placed aslant the belly. The curved member (neck plus harmonic curve) is without a hole. Of the nineteen strings, six are without mechanism and thirteen are provided with ditals. The smallest fingerboard is for the highest string only.' Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 69.

The woods cannot be identified because they are covered with paint and gilding. However, pine was commonly used for soundboards and maple for the ribs or backs of string instruments.
Dimensions
  • Maximum length: 88cm
  • Width: 33cm
Taken from Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 69.
Marks and inscriptions
E.Light's Patent / Dital Harp / 43 Gt. Marylebone Street / London. No. 294 (Painted in gold on the top of the body of the instrument.)
Gallery label
(pre September 2000)
DITAL HARP
By E. Light, London, about 1819

Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 13/11

E. Light patented an improved "British" lute-harp, with thirteen ditals or hand-operated levers that could raise the note half a tone higher. By 1819 this instrument, with up to twenty strings by now, became known as the dital harp.


99-1899
Object history
In 1899 this instrument was bought by the Museum for £4 from James B.Birkmeyer, Esq.
Summary
By about 1820 Edward Light (c.1747-c.1832) had brought out a number of harp-variants including a 'dital harp', which could be fitted with as many as nineteen 'ditals' or hand-operated levers, although this example has only thirteen. Light made these elegant instruments fashionable amongst ladies, largely through connections with his pupil, Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), daughter of the Prince Regent and an enthusiastic player of harp-variants.
Bibliographic reference
Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 69
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
99-1899

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Record createdMay 16, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O58965/dital-harp-light-edward/
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