Guitar

"Vaulted back of twenty-five ribs of snakewood (?) with intervening ivory stringing. The sides are constructed to match the back. The pine belly, with double string of ivory purfling [bordering], is decorated with gouged out floral scroll work fuked with some ivory composition. The soundhole is surrounded with a chequered pattern of ivory and ebony inlay. Inside the body is much paper lining, which obscured a label. The slipper neck block is connected to the arched back by a packing piece. The bridge is missing. The back of the neck is inlaid with floral marquetry in ebony and ivory. Metal frets have been added at a later date. The head is for five double courses of strings. The marquetry on the neck of this guitar is so smilar to that on 12/2 (Matteo Sellas Guitar for the Grand Duke Ferdinando of Tuscany, Museum No. 3756 - 1861) that both must at least have come from the same centre." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments, London, 1998, p. 58.