Italian Single Manual Harpsichord
date: label: date made
content: 19th century
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This harpsichord was made by an unknown maker in Italy, in the 19th century. It is a single manual harpsichord with a compass of C/E - c3, and a disposition of 1 x 8’. The harpsichord has a cypress soundboard with an unusually large rose of gilt parchment and canvas surrounded by raised beading of gilt gesso, and boxwood naturals and ebony accidentals. There is a spurious nameboard that is inscribed: “Giovanni Andrea Menegoni. Venetus. Ficit. [sic] 1690.”
label: Description (Brief)
content: The inseparable outer case is elaborately painted with a pale yellow background with panels outlined in relief decorations. The panels feature medallions with profile heads surrounded by painted floral and rope designs. The interior of the lid is painted with a landscape with figures and buildings. The two painted front legs are joined by a lyre and the third leg carved differently and painted with similar decorations.
label: Description (Brief)
content: There are examples of Menegoni harpsichords in the Historisches Museum Basel and in the Hans Adler Collection in the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Italy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Harpsichords
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Hugo Worch
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.332174
label: accession number
content: 93944
label: catalog number
content: 332174
objectType: label: Object Name
content: harpsichord
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall (instrument only): 8 1/4 in x 28 7/8 in x 69 3/4 in; 20.955 cm x 73.3425 cm x 177.165 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 in x 28 3/4 in x 69 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 73.025 cm x 176.53 cm