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Milanese mandolin

Small lute-shaped, plucked stringed instrument with ribbed back and flat soundboard. Two-piece spruce top with a flat-oval-shaped soundhole. Maple neck and back made of 13 ribs with strip spacers of dark wood. Marquetry fretboard with 15 brass frets. Ivory nut. Six friction tuning pegs with six strings (two silver-wound and four gut). Marquetry pegbox terminating in square-shaped finial. Moustache-shaped, tie-bridge made of lighter wood with ivory saddle. Small rounded end pin on bottom. This instrument is part of the Albert C. Spencer collection.

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  • Decorative elements:Fretboard marquetry in herringbone pattern. Pegbox marquetry in diamond-strip pattern. Square bone inlay on center of finial. Multiple-lined purfling along the edges and soundhole.
  • Inscriptions:
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:321.322 Necked box lutes or necked guitars
  • Repository:Royal Pavilion and Museums Brighton
  • Measurements:Height: 545mm; Width: 215mm; Depth: 130mm