Cornett
ca. 1580 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The cornett was a wind instrument bored with holes like a flute or recorder and fitted with a trumpet-like mouthpiece. The earliest versions were made from hollowed-out cow horns and used by shepherds and watchmen. By about 1250 they were made from hollowed-out ivory tusks or two pieces of wood joined together latitudinally and covered with leather. By about 1580 the best examples are thought to have come from Venice. Between about 1550 and 1650, the cornett enjoyed a prominent part in wind ensembles and was often used for displays of virtuosity . Its tone has been described as a cross between an alto saxophone and a clarinet, but it made great demands on the player. As Roger North (1653 - 1734), a keen amateur musician, observed ' ... the labour on the lips is too great and it is seldom well sounded', which might help explain its decline to obscurity by about 1700.
On loan to the Horniman Museum.
On loan to the Horniman Museum.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory, carved and bored |
| Brief description | Cornett, carved and bored ivory, possibly Italy, about 1580 |
| Physical description | "Curved form (right hand lowermost). Ivory, the lower part shaped octagonally and the upper part in a diamond pattern, in the manner characteristic for the curved cornett. Six fingerholes and a thumbhole. Mouthpiece missing.". Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments. (London, 1998), p. 104. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This item was bought from M. Baur of Paris for £10 in July 1869. |
| Production | A. Baines says it is 'possibly Italian'. |
| Summary | The cornett was a wind instrument bored with holes like a flute or recorder and fitted with a trumpet-like mouthpiece. The earliest versions were made from hollowed-out cow horns and used by shepherds and watchmen. By about 1250 they were made from hollowed-out ivory tusks or two pieces of wood joined together latitudinally and covered with leather. By about 1580 the best examples are thought to have come from Venice. Between about 1550 and 1650, the cornett enjoyed a prominent part in wind ensembles and was often used for displays of virtuosity . Its tone has been described as a cross between an alto saxophone and a clarinet, but it made great demands on the player. As Roger North (1653 - 1734), a keen amateur musician, observed ' ... the labour on the lips is too great and it is seldom well sounded', which might help explain its decline to obscurity by about 1700. On loan to the Horniman Museum. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments. (London, 1998), p. 104. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1123-1869 |
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| Record created | December 6, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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