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RCM 22 Guitar ?French, second half of 17th century Inscriptions None Brief description Five-course baroque guitar; much altered Dimensions : 949 : 450 : upper bouts 208, middle bouts 187, lower bouts 252 : at neck joint 94.5, at tail 76.3 : (to marks of later bridge for six single strings): c.690
much-altered guitar in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. It has been pointed out that the decoration on both these guitars has similarities to that on a guitar signed ‘Rober[t] Chéron 1[6]94’, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (personal communication from Florence Gétreau). The rose of RCM 22 resembles one in a guitar by Jean-Baptiste Voboam in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. The rose, however, could have been supplied by a specialist craftsman, as could the decoration, and the marquetry on the neck may be from a different source. Provenance Gift of Sir George Donaldson, 1894 References Donaldson 1896, pl.XI Wells 1984, p.13
Description Front later, wide-grained, showing marks of two bridge positions; no bridge at present; six plugged holes from pin-bridge for six single strings. The original elaborate terraced rose of very fine workmanship was re-used, fitted slightly off-centre. Of paper and card, it has four levels of pierced, mostly gothic ornament; the second layer down is a six-pointed star, and the lowest carries, as central boss, a wooden spire with a pyramid of nine decorative punchings. Collar of various chequered patterns made from mother-of-pearl, ebony and other materials. Soundhole diameter: 77mm; centre of soundhole from tail: 304.5mm. The ribs have a central strip of scrolling acanthus and flower ornament with birds and insects in bone and ebony marquetry, between lines of chequered bone and ivory. Back of four strips of the same marquetry; plugged holes at top and bottom of back from fixing/location pegs. Ribs and back are made of a coniferous wood, with the marquetry veneers laid on. The X-ray image (radiograph) shows the current barring. Neck has both back and front veneered in bone and ebony marquetry, which continues onto back of peghead. Width of fingerboard: at joint 55.6mm, at nut 45.8mm. Later pegs of ebony and one of rosewood. Nut made in 1969, notched for five courses. The rose, however, could have been supplied by a specialist craftsman, as could the decoration. Commentary A dark wood other than ebony was used for the edging of the later soundboard and as the outer ring of the soundhole collar. This occurs nowhere else except around the edges of the section of the front which goes onto the neck. The decoration is very confused here, and the present front butts against a small section of an earlier front but its edge decoration does not match the rest of the instrument; there may have been three successive fronts. Wear on the current front shows that the instrument has been played extensively with the little fingers of the right hand resting on the soundboard in the traditional ‘lute’ manner. The distinctive marquetry design with birds and insects can also be seen on a cittern (catalogued as German) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and another
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