Folding harpsichord

Rijk van Arkel, 1768

In Paris, 1699, Jean Marius claimed the invention of the folding harpsichord. It was convenient for travelling. The two smaller sections, at right and centre, are hinged and can be closed to form a single long unit which is then folded over the left-hand part. The famous castrato Farinelli owned two such harpsichords, as well as five normal harpsichords and a grand piano.

  • Artwork typekeyboard instrument, musical instrument, stringed instrument, harpsichord
  • Object numberBK-NM-5686
  • Dimensionsheight 14 cm x width 73 cm x length 99 cm

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Folding harpsichord

  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-NM-5686

  • Description

    Klavecimbel. Opvouwbaar, met bijbehorende kist.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    date: ‘Rijk van Arkel/ heft dit gemaakt/ Jaar 1768’


Creation

  • Creation

    musical instrument maker: Rijk van Arkel, Gouda

  • Dating

    1768

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Material and technique

  • Dimensions

    height 14 cm x width 73 cm x length 99 cm


Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Gift of A.J. Enschedé, Haarlem

  • Acquisition

    gift 1882

  • Copyright


Documentation

    • Arend Jan Gierveld, 'The Harpsichord and Clavichord in the Dutch Republic', Tijdschrift van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 31, nr. 2 (1981), p. 117-166: 129, afb. 1-2
    • S. van Milligen, 'Wat moet er met de oude muziek-instrumenten in ons Rijksmuseum geschieden?', Caecilia en de muziek 62 (1905), p. 486
    • Igor Kipnis, 'The harpsichord and clavichord: An Encyclopedia', New York: Routledge, 2007, p. 70
    • Giovanni Paolo Di Stefano, 'Enn opvouwbaar klavecimbel. Muziekschatten in het Rijksmuseum', Oude Muziek Magazine (2020/4), p. 10-11
    • Rudolf A. Rasch, 'The transition from harpsichord to pianoforte in the northern Netherlands', La cultura del fortepiano/Die Kultur des Hammerklaviers 1780-1830, ed. by Richard Bösel, Bologna: Ut Orpheus, 2009, p. 299–320: 304
    • Jeremy Montagu, 'Instrument plans, books, postcards: Bate Collection, Oxford', FoMRHI Quarterly 68 (1992), p. 6-12: 10
    • Laurence Libin, 'Folding Harpsichords', Early Music 15, nr. 3 (Aug., 1987), p. 378-383: 379, 381

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