Cittern

Although it lacks the hook commonly found on the back of the neck, this cittern follows an Italian pattern. It has an elaborate gilt quatrefoil rose, recessed in tiers like the rose commonly found in contemporary guitars. The carved African boy’s head, at the top of the pegbox, is painted black, touched with red, and has ivory or bone eyes and teeth. The little projecting wings, flanking the base of the neck, are made from two halves of a split baluster, glued over the join between the neck and body. The fingerboard is faced with rectangles of grainy maple, lightly scalloped, between metal frets. The body and rose are outlined in pen and black ink. Nine ebony pegs, inserted laterally, carry five courses of strings, four of which are double.