Double Manual Harpsichord
date: label: date made
content: 1760
name: label: maker
content: Stehlin, Benoist
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This instrument was made by Benoist Stehlin of Paris in the mid-1700s, the golden era of French harpsichord manufacture. Austrian-born, Stehlin lived in relative obscurity, devoting his life to the building of harpsichords. This is one of three known to survive. Another (dated 1750) is at the Museé Antoine Lecuyer in St. Quentin, France, and a third (dated 1767) at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin, Germany. Government inventories of 1774 show Stehlin to have operated a thriving business, but many of his instruments, like those of his contemporaries, were destroyed during the French Revolution.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>Nonetheless, this Stehlin represents the classical French instrument, with a 4'-and two 8'-registers, plus a particularly attractive buff stop, which slightly damps the strings' vibration by bringing small pieces of soft leather into contact with them near the nut. It is appropriate for much of the great French solo and ensemble repertoire, from François Couperin to Jean-Philippe Rameau and Jacques Duphly.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>This instrument is used in concerts and featured on recordings by the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>Recordings currently available can be found at:</p>
label: Description
content: <p>http://www.smithsonianchambermusic.org/recordings</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: France: Île-de-France, Paris
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.66.521
label: accession number
content: 272557
label: catalog number
content: 66.521
objectType: label: Object Name
content: harpsichord
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 37 1/8 in x 37 1/2 in x 93 3/4 in; 94.2975 cm x 95.25 cm x 238.125 cm