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The Dance Master's Kit A SPECIAL EXHIBITION OF MINIATURE FIDDLES, BOWS, AND ACCESSORIES FROM THE SEVENTEENTH THROUGH NINETEENTH CENTURIES

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. NEW YORK

The Dance Master's Kit A SPECIAL EXHIBITION OF MINIATURE FIDDLES, BOWS, AND ACCESSORIES FROM THE SEVENTEENTH THROUGH NINETEENTH CENTURIES

MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT FROM HANS H. SCHAMBACH

NOVEMBER 1981-JANUARY 1982

ANDRE MERTENS GALLERIES FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

NEW YORK 10

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.Il INTRODUCTION The present exhibition, organized for the Metropolitan Museum by Henryk Kaston and Jacques Français in cooperation with the Department of Musical Instruments, marks the first time such a large, varied group of kits has been assembled. Many collectors prize one or two of these precious little fiddles— descendants in form of the medieval rebec—but never before has the public enjoyed an opportunity to compare so many fine examples. Of particular interest are the unique products of major luthiers such as Bcrgonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari (Numbers 48-50). The extraordinary quality of their instru­ ments testifies to the musical importance of kits and related small fiddles and underscores the social significance of dance during the Baroque era. While kits (or pochettes, so called because of their size) are commonly as­ sociated with dance masters who played them to accompany lessons, certain of these instruments clearly were not thus employed. Some nineteenth-century kits were intended as purely decorative objects, their diminutive size precluding musical use (Numbers 15, 16, 41, 42). Among functional eighteenth-century examples, some are so expensively embellished that they surely cost more than most dance masters could afford; perhaps such ornate kits, lavishly inlaid and sporting handsomely carved heads, were commissioned by the wealthy as gifts for favored teachers (Numbers 8, 20). Evidence of use, in the form of position marks scored on the , occurs on some examples (Numbers 9, 13), but in many instances old fittings such as bridges, pegs, and tailpieces have been lost and replaced. It is often difficult to detect alterations, but worn spots on the tops show where bridges might originally have been placed. Contemporary depictions (Numbers 1, 52) confirm the low placement of early bridges and indicate the correct playing posture: the instrument was held against the chest, as in some folk fiddling today, rather than under the chin. Determining the authenticity and provenance of anonymous instruments is a vexing challenge. Even extant labels are frequently illegible or unreliable; worse, the majority of kits bear no indication at all of their origins. Here we have grouped instruments by related features of shape and style, but it would be risky to conclude that superficially similar kits share a common origin. Only in two cases (Numbers 3 and 17, 10 and 11) are pairs of anonymous kits so similar that they appear to have come from the same workshop. Finding these hitherto unsuspected correspondences has been one of the benefits of this exhibition. For the attributions in this checklist we are indebted to the lenders; it should be understood that their attributions are in many cases provisional. We hope that visitors may bring other instruments to our attention so that further comparisons can be made. At this time attempting publication of a seemingly definitive catalogue would be premature. For the opportunity to present The Dance Master's Kit the Metropolitan Museum is deeply grateful to Hans H. Schambach and to the other lenders credited herein. The exhibition was designed and installed by the staff of the Department of Musical Instruments, with photography by Isabelle Français. Laurence Libin, Curator VITRINE I 1. Engraving: Maistre à Dancer ("The Dance Master"), depicting a courtly youth bowing a boat-shaped kit or pochette similar to Number 19. The poetic caption means, roughly, "The dancer's charming air attracts fond caresses; It's clear he masters many mistresses." These lines allude to the vanity and sensuality associated with upper-class social dance. "Air" can refer both to the dancer's attitude and to his tune. Kits sometimes symbolized life's transitory pleasures. The expressions "fiddling around" and "fiddlesticks!" reflect conservative disapproval of dance-associated instruments. This engraving is among a collection bear­ ing the French royal arms on the binding. Nicholas Bonnart, Paris, late 17th century. The Elisha Whittclsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1957. 57.559.5 2. Waistcoat of cream-white satin embroidered in pastel silks; ground semé with flowerets; floral borders. French, 1760-90. Gift of Henry Dazian, 1933. 33.124.5 3. One-piece maple body; fluted back inlaid with ivory stripes; spruce top with C holes; and shield-shaped tailpiece edged with alter­ nating light and dark diagonals; pegbox bearing on the back a carved grotesque head above a blank shield and surmounted by a head of Zephyrus; at the tail a winged cherub. A virtually identical kit (Number 17) suggests that this was a production model. French, 19th century. Ex coll. Belle Skinner. L. 44.5 cm. (17'/2 in.). Lent by Yale University 4. Cylindrical kit case of wood lined with marbled paper and covered with red leather tooled with bindery ornaments and fleurs-de-lis. French, 18th century. Lent by Dorothy and Robert Rosenbaum

VITRINE II BOAT-SHAPED KITS 5. Faceted back of bird's-eye maple with stripes and edging; flamed maple neck with scroll; pine top with C holes; original fingerboard and tailpiece. French, about 1800. L. 44.5 cm. (17'/2 in.). Gift of Joseph W. Drexel, 1889. 89.2.171 6. Faceted ebony back with twisted-silver-wire stripes; ebony neck with grafted maple scroll; pine top with C and heart holes; original fingerboard with tortoiseshcll and twisted-wire decor. Jacques Regnault, Paris, 1714? L. 40 cm. (15Y4 in.). Lent by Dorothy and Robert Rosenbaum 7. Faceted maple neck and back; incised pegbox with lion head; fruitwood 15 top with C and heart holes; fingerboard covered with bone and tor- toiseshell strips. German, 17th century. L. 42.5 cm. (I6-V4 in.). Lent by Jacques Français 8. Faceted neck and back covered with ivory and tortoiseshell; maple pegbox with carved ivory angel's head; spruce top with C holes and inlaid heart and clover; original fingerboard and tailpiece covered with tortoiseshell. Mathias Wörle, Augsburg, 1669. L. 42 cm. (169/i4 in.). Rogers Fund, 1956. 56.158 16. Rounded mahogany back; poplar neck with open pegbox surmounted by modeled head of American Indian; pine top with parchment rosette; painted edging; tailpiece tied to peg inside body. Italian? 19th century. L. 50 cm. (19"/i6in.). The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. 89.4.2903 17. Fluted maple back with ivory stripes; integral neck and pegbox sur­ mounted by head of Zephyrus; winged cherub at tail; spruce top with C holes; virtually identical to Number 3. French, 19th century. L. 44.5 cm. (17% in.). The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. 89.4.2290 18. Assembled body; mother-of-pearl inlays and recessed striped panels on back; impish head grafted on pegbox; pine top with C holes; -type fingerboard. French, late 19th century. L. 53.6 cm. (21'/s in.). The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889. 89.4.972 19. Richly carved faceted maple body; spruce top with irregular holes; original fingerboard, tailpiece, and neck surmounted by a handsome lion head. Marked FZ on back. Franz Zacher? German, early 18th century. L. 57 cm. (22% r, in.). Lent by Mrs. Rembert Wurlitzer 20. Checkerboard ivory- and ebony-inlaid back; neck striped with rosewood and ivory, surmounted by lion head; spruce top with C holes; original ivory tailpiece and rosewood fingerboard with later ornaments. German, about 1700. Ex coll. Belle Skinner. L. 51 cm. (20Vi6 in.). Lent by Yale University 21. Faceted fruitwood back; neck inlaid with bone and ivory, surmounted by lion head; original fingerboard inlaid with bone and rosewood; stained spruce top with irregular holes. German, about 1700. L. 49 cm. (195/i6 in.). Lent by Henryk Kaston and Hans Schambach 22. Body and neck inlaid with ebony, bone, and tortoiseshell; at head a bone plate with incised wreathed lion; original ornately inlaid fingerboard; pine top with F holes. Venice? early 18th century. L. 50.5 cm. (19% in.). Lent by Jacques Français 23. Assembled body with engraved mother-of-pearl bands on facets; fruit- wood neck inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory; pine top with C holes; flat plaque head. German? late 18th century. L. 49 cm. (195/i6 in.). Lent by Andrew Petryn 24. Faceted ebony back with ivory stripes and incised mother-of-pearl and ivory inlays; plaque at head engraved with birds over fruitbasket; stained- pine top with F holes and rosette. German or Flemish, 17th century? L. 50.6 cm. (1915/i6 in.). Gift of Aaron Schoenbaum, 1964. 64.72 25. Pernambuco bow with round fluted stick, elongated head, convex cam­ ber, rosewood frog, ivory button. French, about 1720. L. of hair 38 cm. (1415/i6in.). Lent by Henryk Kaston and Hans Schambach 26. Pernambuco bow with round stick, ebony frog and button, modern counter camber. Louis Tourte, Paris, about 1780. L. of hair 40.3 cm. (15% in.). Lent by Henryk Kaston and Hans Schambach 27. Pernambuco bow with round stick, ivory frog and button. Thomas Tubbs, London, late 18th century. L. of hair 39.5 cm. (159/i6 in.). Lent by Jacques Français

28. Pernambuco bow with round stick, elongated head, ivory frog and button. French, mid-18th century. L. of hair 32.5 cm. (12'%fi in.). Lent by Jacques Français VITRINE III VIOLIN-SHAPED KITS 29. One-piece maple body; pine top, the scroll a later addition. Attributed to Carlo Giuseppe Testore, Milan, about 1730. L. 40.7 cm. (16 in.). Lent by Henryk Kaston and Hans Schambach 30. One-piece maple body with convex carved sides; purfled spruce top; grafted neck. Nicolo Gagliano "filius Alexandri," Naples, 1770. L. 37.5 cm. (14% in.). Lent by Emile Français 31. One-piece maple body; spruce top; original fingerboard. Attributed to Domenico Busan, Venice, 1740-80. L. 40.1 cm. (1513/i