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Lombardic mandolin

Small lute-shaped, plucked stringed instrument with ribbed back and flat soundboard. It has a one-piece spruce top with an oval-shaped soundhole, and the back is made of alternated ribs of light and dark brown wood. The fretboard is scalloped has 20 nickel-silver frets, and an ivory nut. There are six friction tuning pegs (one not original) with six strings (two silver-wound, two nylon and two gut). The pegbox terminates in a square-shaped finial. It has a moustache-shaped, tie-bridge with two mother-of-pearl inlets (one missing), and an asymmetrical dark, or stained, wood pickguard with concave-lozenge-roundtip on bass side, and flowing ovoid-curve sweeping towards the bridge at the treble side. There is a raised wooden clasp at the bottom of the instrument with mother-of-pearl quatrefoil. Purfling made of black-mastic with dots and acanthus leaves, mother-of-pearl inlays around the soundhole. edges of the soundboard, the soundhole and the pegbox. Double-line purfling of light-dark-light strips and black mastic around the edges and soundhole. Quatrefoil inlays on bottom clasp, and after second (missing) and fourth frets. Mother-of-pearl dot inlays on fretboard. Foliage inlay of lighter wood on pickguard. Foliage inlay of darker wood on the side and bottom ribs.

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  • Inscriptions:Paper label inside: ANTICHISSIMA CASA FONDATA NEL 1750 / A. MONZINO & FIGLI / MILANO - Via Rastrelli, 10 / PREMIATA FABBRICA DI / STRUMENTI MUSICALI A CORDE / AD ARCO, A PLETTRO, A PIZZICO / CORDE ARMONICHE / MASSIME ONORIFICENZE A DIVERSE / ESPOSIZIONI INTERNAZIONALI / ESPORTAZIONE MONDIALE
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:321.322 Necked box lutes or necked guitars
  • Repository:Swindon Museum & Art Gallery
  • Measurements:Height: 575mm; Width: 228mm; Depth: 120mm; Sounding length: 300mm