Double Flageolet
about 1820 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The flageolet is a wind instrument with a whistle-like mouth piece. The English version originally had six finger-holes but no thumb-holes, which made it harder to play sharps and flats. William Bainbridge (d. 1831), a wood-turner and professional musician, introduced a thumb-hole and two keys in 1803 and added an extra pipe with more keys and fingerholes in 1806. Bainbridge also fitted his instruments with ivory studs to guide players to the correct holes. In spite of various subsequent modifications, Bainbridge never succeded in making the flageolet as popular with musicians as the flute, and it fell into disuse by the 1850s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Turned and bored boxwood tubing, turned ivory mounts, silver |
| Brief description | Double Flageolet, boxwood, ivory mounts and studs, silver keys, William Bainbridge, English, about 1820. |
| Physical description | "Two boxwood pipes of equal length, held in wide head joint with two shut-off keys, one being a later replacement. The ivory mouthpiece is missing. Ivory mounted, with silver keys. The left-hand pipe has two keys and an undrilled block for an F key not fitted. The right-hand pipe has three keys, of which one is at the back." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 89. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Bainbridge 35 Holborn Hill London Patent Note Stamped on the head joint. |
| Gallery label |
|
| Object history | This instrument was part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882), and was bought by the South Kensington Museum for £1. |
| Summary | The flageolet is a wind instrument with a whistle-like mouth piece. The English version originally had six finger-holes but no thumb-holes, which made it harder to play sharps and flats. William Bainbridge (d. 1831), a wood-turner and professional musician, introduced a thumb-hole and two keys in 1803 and added an extra pipe with more keys and fingerholes in 1806. Bainbridge also fitted his instruments with ivory studs to guide players to the correct holes. In spite of various subsequent modifications, Bainbridge never succeded in making the flageolet as popular with musicians as the flute, and it fell into disuse by the 1850s. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 89 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 292-1882 |
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 | May 1, 2001 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
