Archlute
1619 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This instrument is a chitarrone, the largest form of lute. It was subsequently converted into a smaller version, known as the archlute. The peghead used to accomodate the extra long bass strings of the chitarrone has been cut and set to the bass side, and the neck has also been shortened. This instrument was probably played until the 19th centuryas it is fitted with iron levers, dating from about 1800, which raise the bass strings a semi-tone. The body of this example was made in 1619 by Matteo Buechenberg (d. 1628), a luthier of German origins who settled in Rome and is best known for his chitarroni.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | planed and joined shaded yew ribs; pine soundboard, ebony veneered neck with ivory stringing; turned ivory thumb-buttons; iron levers. |
Brief description | Archlute, Italian (Rome), yew ribs and ebony and ivory veneered neck, Matteo Buechenborg, 1619. |
Physical description | 'Back of fifty-one shaded [yew] ribs. Pine belly carved with triple rose, one section possibly a replacement. The neck is later, with a short plain fingerboard (16.5 cm) and the main pegbox with twelve pegs, evidently, by nut grooves, for twelve single strings. The head has been crudely chopped down from an earlier longer head and is now set over to the bass side; the back is of ebony with inlaid ivory strings. The upper pegbox has twelve pegs for six double courses, and five iron semitone levers actuated by ivory brass thum buttons.' - Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 34. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Matheus Buechenberg / Roma 1619 (Handwritten in ink on a label inside the body of this instrument.) |
Object history | This instrument formed part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882) and was bought by the Museum in 1882 for £8. |
Summary | This instrument is a chitarrone, the largest form of lute. It was subsequently converted into a smaller version, known as the archlute. The peghead used to accomodate the extra long bass strings of the chitarrone has been cut and set to the bass side, and the neck has also been shortened. This instrument was probably played until the 19th centuryas it is fitted with iron levers, dating from about 1800, which raise the bass strings a semi-tone. The body of this example was made in 1619 by Matteo Buechenberg (d. 1628), a luthier of German origins who settled in Rome and is best known for his chitarroni. |
Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 34. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 218-1882 |
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Record created | December 23, 2008 |
Record URL |
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