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Hurdy-gurdy

Straight-sided body with bow-shaped wide end, and with sloping shoulders formed by flange-like involutions of the belly running up to the pegbox. The belly has two roses produced by drilling a series of concentric holes, joined into a single motif by painted details and surrounded by a painted wreath of laurels in the Renaissance tradition. The edges of belly and back are bordered by Renaissance arabesque scrollwork painted in black. Also painted in black on the belly are two scenes of hunting which include a man dressed in jerkin, hose and wide-brimmed hat that appear to be of seventeenth-century date. On the back and on the wheel-guard is a shield with the royal arms of France flanked by the crowned monogram of Henri II, 1547-1559 (not, as has been claimed, of Henri II and his queen, Catherine de' Medici). The heart-shaped pegbox, with six vertical pegs, continues the line of the keybox, but is joined to the body and is also braced to this by a turned balluster-shaped strut at each side. The keybox has a hinged lid veneered outside with ebony and ivory bands, the keys being of the same two materials. The side of the keybox is stamped in the French manner with a bell-like motif and the name of Louvet. The tailpiece is likewise banded black and white.' Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part II: Non-Keyboard Instruments (London, 1978), p. 25.

  • Culture:
  • Period:
  • Materials:Pine, planed and painted, turned wood and ivory, ebony and ivory stringing
  • Specific materials/techniques:
  • Decorative elements:
  • Inscriptions:'I. [or P?] Louvet' H surmounted by crown C surmounted by crown
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:
  • Repository:Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Measurements:Length: 56 cm including handle, Length: 31 cm body, Depth: 7 cm body, Width: 21 cm, Length: 28 cm string