Harpsichord

'The case is japanned, the outside being black, while the inner surface of the lid, the inner faces of the case and the keyboard surround are a coral-pink colour. (It is believed that this interior colour was originally a clear pink and that the present shade is the result of overpainting, presumably during early restorations, and of the yellowing of the layer of varnish over the paint). Both the inside and outside of the case are decorated with gilt chinoiseries consisting of small figures in fantastic landscapes. The stand has five fluted legs and is carved and gilt. Three chased brass hinges attach the lid to the spine and two slightly narrower ones of the same type join the two parts of the lid. The soundboard is painted with flowers in gouache and the rose hole contains a gilt metal cross surrounded by the inscription Pascal Taskin, 1786. The characteristic floral decoration has a small blue ring around the rose and the symbolic branch of a tree with a small bird. Germann [*] attributes the floral decoration of the key-well, jack-rail and inner case to 'the first Taskin painter', possibly M. Doublet the elder, whose work can be traced from c.1760 to 1786. The soundboard decoration and chinoiseries are ascribed to the 'second Taskin painter', possibly M. Doublet the younger, who was active in Taskin's service from 1778 to 1790.' Adapted from Howard Schott, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part I: Keyboard Instruments (London, 1985), p.102. * Sheridan Germann, 'Monsieur Doublet and his confrères: the harpsichord decorators of Paris', Early Music, viii/4, (1980), 435; ix/2 (1981), 192.