Dital-Harp
about 1819 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
By about 1820 Edward Light (c.1747-c.1832) had brought out a number of harp-variants including a 'dital harp', which could be fitted with as many as nineteen 'ditals' or hand-operated levers, although this example has only thirteen. Light made these elegant instruments fashionable amongst ladies, largely through connections with his pupil, Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), daughter of the Prince Regent and an enthusiastic player of harp-variants.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed, gilded and painted wooden soundboard and ribs; ebony fingerboard with metal frets. |
| Brief description | Dital harp painted and gilded, Edward Light, London, English, about 1819. |
| Physical description | "Body, similar to the preceding [i.e. Harp-lute by Edward Light, Museum no. 37-1873 - "body of seven ribs, with two sound slots in the centre rib".] painted dark blue, edged with gold decoration ... A base with moulded composition embellishment allows the instrument to stand up. The pin bridge is placed aslant the belly. The curved member (neck plus harmonic curve) is without a hole. Of the nineteen strings, six are without mechanism and thirteen are provided with ditals. The smallest fingerboard is for the highest string only.' Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 69. The woods cannot be identified because they are covered with paint and gilding. However, pine was commonly used for soundboards and maple for the ribs or backs of string instruments. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | E.Light's Patent / Dital Harp / 43 Gt. Marylebone Street / London. No. 294 (Painted in gold on the top of the body of the instrument.) |
| Gallery label | DITAL HARP
By E. Light, London, about 1819
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 13/11
E. Light patented an improved "British" lute-harp, with thirteen ditals or hand-operated levers that could raise the note half a tone higher. By 1819 this instrument, with up to twenty strings by now, became known as the dital harp.
99-1899(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | In 1899 this instrument was bought by the Museum for £4 from James B.Birkmeyer, Esq. |
| Summary | By about 1820 Edward Light (c.1747-c.1832) had brought out a number of harp-variants including a 'dital harp', which could be fitted with as many as nineteen 'ditals' or hand-operated levers, although this example has only thirteen. Light made these elegant instruments fashionable amongst ladies, largely through connections with his pupil, Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), daughter of the Prince Regent and an enthusiastic player of harp-variants. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 69 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 99-1899 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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