Musette
1850-1900 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The musette is a small reed instrument, rather like a miniature oboe without keys, that enjoyed some popularity during the 19th century. It is stamped 'Lafleur' and was retailed by J.R.Lafleur & Co, a London-based firm of musical instrument importers, which was founded in 1780, flourished throughout the 19th century and was finally taken over by Boosey & Hawkes in 1940.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Turned boxwood with brass mounts |
| Brief description | Musette, boxwood, J.R. Lafleur & Co., French, 1850-1900. |
| Physical description | "Boxwood, in two joints, brass mounted. Six fingerholes and thumbhole, and three vent holes in the bell." Anthony Baines,Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments(London, 1998), p. 98. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Paris & Londres/ Lafleur (Stamped on the bell-joint.)
|
| Object history | This was part of Carl Engel's Collections, and valued at 5 shillings, when acquired by the South Kensington Museum in 1882. This instrument was purchased by the Museum for 5 shillings (£0.25) in 1882. It had been part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882), an eminent musicologist from Hanover, who published the Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum in 1874. The South Kensington Museum has been known as the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1899. |
| Summary | The musette is a small reed instrument, rather like a miniature oboe without keys, that enjoyed some popularity during the 19th century. It is stamped 'Lafleur' and was retailed by J.R.Lafleur & Co, a London-based firm of musical instrument importers, which was founded in 1780, flourished throughout the 19th century and was finally taken over by Boosey & Hawkes in 1940. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 98 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 304-1882 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 11, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
