French, Paris, 1786, gilded beech

with case japanned on black and pink grounds, with gilding. French, Paris, by Pascal Taskin, 1786

removed from Taskin

keyboard lid from Pierre Taskin Harpsichord, floral decoration on inside, chinoiserie decoration on outside

'The case is japanned, the outside being black, while the inner surface of the lid, the inner faces of the case and the keyboard surround are a coral-pink colour. (It is believed that this interior colour was originally a clear pink and that the present shade is the result of overpainting, presumably during early restorations, and of the yellowing of the layer of varnish over the paint). Both the inside and outside of the case are decorated with gilt chinoiseries consisting of small figures in fantastic landscapes. The stand has five fluted legs and is carved and gilt. Three chased brass hinges attach the lid to the spine and two slightly narrower ones of the same type join the two parts of the lid.

The soundboard is painted with flowers in gouache and the rose hole contains a gilt metal cross surrounded by the inscription Pascal Taskin, 1786. The characteristic floral decoration has a small blue ring around the rose and the symbolic branch of a tree with a small bird. Germann [*] attributes the floral decoration of the key-well, jack-rail and inner case to 'the first Taskin painter', possibly M. Doublet the elder, whose work can be traced from c.1760 to 1786. The soundboard decoration and chinoiseries are ascribed to the 'second Taskin painter', possibly M. Doublet the younger, who was active in Taskin's service from 1778 to 1790.'

Adapted from Howard Schott, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part I: Keyboard Instruments (London, 1985), p.102.
* Sheridan Germann, 'Monsieur Doublet and his confrères: the harpsichord decorators of Paris', Early Music, viii/4, (1980), 435; ix/2 (1981), 192.

The harpshicord, referred to as a 'Spinette' was purchased directly from Paris. The report of the Museum's Art Referee, Matthew Digby Wyatt, stressed the high quality of the decoration and included in his report a small sketch of the instrument.

Two major restorations of this instrument are recorded. By about 1800 the piano had supplanted the harpsichord as the most popular keyboard instrument and old instruments were discarded. In 1856 - before the Museum acquired it - Charles Fleury in Paris restrung the harpsichord using new wire of tensile strength similar to eighteenth-century wire. He added an extra course of strings at the treble end and shifted the keyboard a semi-tone to the right, to allow the strings to be tuned at a higher pitch than was normal in Taskin's time. Fleury's work was an early example of restoration of harpsichords in the spirt of the Early Music Revival. His alterations were reversed during the restoration of the instrument to as near original condition as possible in 1971.

The rosette takes the form of a gilt-metal Maltese Cross; it is unlike any other surviving example by Taskin and is thought to be a later replacement.

Harpsichords are shaped roughly like grand pianos. The sound is made by the action of the keys, which make the quills pluck the strings inside the instrument. This example was made by Pascal-Joseph Taskin I (1723-1793), who was instrument maker to the court of Louis XVI of France from 1774.

It is specially fitted with a small keyboard with unusually narrow keys, and can only be played by a child or someone with very small hands. It could have been made for a girl, or for a person such as Louise-Honorine, Duchesse de Choiseul (died 1801), an accomplished clavichord player of diminutive stature who had small furniture specially made for her.

The case is decorated in imitation of Japanese lacquer, with japanned figures in oriental poses playing oriental instruments. The decorator, possibly M. Doublet fils (active 1783-9) was probably inspired by the contemporary fashion for incorporating old Japanese lacquer panels into French furniture.

1121:1 to 5-1869