Mandore

'Body, neck and pegbox carved in one piece of pearwood. The shallow, rounded back is beautifully carved with a scene of the Judgement of Paris, amid strapwork and floral scrolls. The neck is almost plain, but the back of the pegbox is carved with a vigorous representation of Medusa's head. The belly is carved with a rose and has a black border. The neck is veneered with ebony, flush with the belly, and two slender ebony beards are set into the belly continuing the line of the neck. There are five very small pegs, an ivory nut, and no frets.' Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum: Part II: Non-Keyboard Instruments(London, 1978), p. 38.