Alto flute

Bernard Hemsing, c. 1730 - c. 1750

Transverse flutes have existed in various forms since 3000 BC. Around 1720, Amsterdam was a centre for the manufacture of woodwind instruments, including flutes. The earliest, with one key and often made of boxwood, and ebony or ivory, were crafted individually. Alto flutes from that time are rare.

  • Artwork typeflute, wind instrument, musical instrument, transverse flute
  • Object numberBK-NM-11430-99
  • Dimensionslength 790 mm x diameter 40 mm
  • Physical characteristicsebbenhout, ivoor en zilver

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Alto flute

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-NM-11430-99

  • Description

    Grote ebbenhouten dwarsfluit met ivoren randen, gemerkt: B. Hemsing.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    stamp: ‘B:HEMSING’

Creation

  • Creation

    musical instrument maker: Bernard Hemsing, Leiden

  • Dating

    c. 1730 - c. 1750

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    ebbenhout, ivoor en zilver

  • Dimensions

    length 790 mm x diameter 40 mm

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the State of the Netherlands and the Vereeniging van Noord-Nederlandsche Muziekgeschiedenis

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1899

  • Copyright

    Public domain

Documentation

    • Jeremy Montagu, 'Instrument plans, books, postcards: Bate Collection, Oxford', FoMRHI Quarterly 68 (1992), p. 6-12: 10
    • Rob van Acht, 'Dutch wind instruments in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries', Geschichte, Bauweise und Spieltechnik der Querflöte, Augsburg: Wißner-Verlag (Musikinstitut für Aufführungspraxis), 2008, p. 53–69: 60, 65, afb. 7d
    • Rob van Acht, 'Dutch Wind-Instruments, 1670-1820', Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 38 (1988), p. 99-122: 118
    • Jan Bouterse, 'Dutch recorders and transverse flutes of the 17th and 18th century', FoMRHI Quarterly 64 (Jul., 1991), Comm. 1052, p. 33-37: 36
    • L.G. Langwill, 'Musikinstrumenten-Sammlung des Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam ausgestellt im Gemeente Museum, Den Haag 9. Oktober - 24. November 1952', Glareana: Nachrichten der Gesellschaft der Freunde alter Musikinstrumente 2, nr. 2 (1953), p. 1-3: 2
    • Rob van Acht, 'Niederländische Blasinstrumente, 1670-1820', Tibia: Magazin für freunde alter und neuer bläsermusik 15, nr. 3 (1990), p. 169-185: 183

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  • Alto flute
  • Alto flute