Harpsichord
1521 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This harpsichord was made in Rome in 1521 by Jerome of Bologna. Although almost nothing is known about its maker, this example is one of the earliest dated keyboard instruments to survive. Rome was the ideal place for an instrument maker to be in the early 1500s because music flourished there as much as art and architecture. Pope Leo X (reigned 1513-1521) was a keen patron of music and collector of musical instruments. Like most other surviving harpsichords of this date, this instrument, although treasured because of its quality and prestige, has subsequently been altered so as to keep up with the latest musical fashions.
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Cypress case and soundboard, with decorative stringing, gilding and inlay |
| Brief description | Italian, 1521, Jerome of Bologna [return to FF15 53O/1] Italian, 1521, stamped and gilt leather part; Italian, 1521, Jerome of Bologna from harpshichord |
| Physical description | Soundboard of pine, sides of cypress, and case of tooled leather, with decoration in the style of about 1550. Naturals of boxwood and sharps stained hardwood. The instrument's present range is forty-seven notes, C-d3, and has two 'eight foot' registers, having originally only had one. |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | HARPSICHORD
By Jerome of Bologna (Italian), 1521
Inscribed Hieronymus Bononiensis faciebat Romae MDXXI [Jerome of Bolgna made this in Rome in 1521] below the verse Aspicite ut trahitur suavi modulamine vocis/ Quidquid habent aer sider terra fretum. [See how everything from the air, sea and earth is brought out by the modulation of the sweet voice]. Soundboard of pine, sides of cypress, and case of tooled leather, with decoration in the style of about 1550. Naturals of boxwood and sharps stained hardwood. The instrument's present range is forty-seven notes, C -d3, and has two "eight foot" registers, having originally only had one.
Keyboard Catalogue No.: 1
This harpsichord is the only known extant instrument of Jerome of Bologna, who flourished in Rome in the 1520s, and one of the earliest dated examples to survive.
226-1879(pre September 2000) |
| Summary | This harpsichord was made in Rome in 1521 by Jerome of Bologna. Although almost nothing is known about its maker, this example is one of the earliest dated keyboard instruments to survive. Rome was the ideal place for an instrument maker to be in the early 1500s because music flourished there as much as art and architecture. Pope Leo X (reigned 1513-1521) was a keen patron of music and collector of musical instruments. Like most other surviving harpsichords of this date, this instrument, although treasured because of its quality and prestige, has subsequently been altered so as to keep up with the latest musical fashions. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 226:1 to 3 -1879 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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