Harpsichord 1M
Date1762
Artist/Maker
Jacob Kirckman
OriginEngland, London
MediumWalnut: case veneer, hitch-pin rail and soundboard molding, tuning pin block veneer;
Oak: case substrate, tuning pin block , key-frame front and balance rails;
Beech: stand (dark stained), bridge, nut;
Spruce: soundboard;
Holly: inner-rim and case string inlay;
Softwoods: bottom board, inner frame, key-frame side rails and back rail, ribs, cutoff bar, liner
Fruitwood: jack bodies;
Padauk(?): keywell crossbanding;
Limewood: key levers, lower jack guide
Plain light hardwood: key fronts;
Holly: some jack tongues;
Boxwood: some jack tongues;
Ebony: sharps;
Ivory: natural key tops;
Iron: tuning pins, stop levers, caster yokes;
Brass: bridge pins, nut pins, hitch pins, lid hinges, lid hooks, case rose, stop knobs;
Tinned brass: keyboard front pins, balance pins, jack staples
DimensionsNet dimensions exclude lid, stand and projecting moldings. All dimensions in mm except where noted.
Length: 2,282 mm (net 2,256 mm); Width: 932 mm (net 915 mm); Height: 888 mm (net 271 mm)
Length: 2,282 mm (net 2,256 mm); Width: 932 mm (net 915 mm); Height: 888 mm (net 271 mm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1997-76,A
DescriptionCASE DECORATION: This single manual harpsichord has stump walnut panels with rosewood crossbanding and light-wood stringing. The spine is not veneered. The pine bottom is original except for the area under the keyboard. Holly stringing and walnut crossbanding surround the figured walnut panels. A line of holly stringing also surrounds the inner rim. KEYWELL: The keywell is veneered in the same pattern as the case, with stringing and crossbanding.
LID: Three oversize strap hinges secure the walnut (?) lid, while butterfly hinges are found on the lid flaps. The case sides have three brass lid hooks.
STAND: The turned stand, made of beech, has its original wooden casters.
COMPASS: FF, GG–f3 (5 octaves)
STOPS: This has two hand stops, the left for the back 8-foot register and the right for the front 8-foot register.
Inscription(s)"Jacobus Kirckman Londini Fecit 1762" in ink on 1970s reproduction nameboard by Peter RedstoneMark(s)• "R[e?]nt[e or a]ul 29" in pencil on key 1 and in chalk on key 60; both in modern lettering • "IP" scratched into bottom in two places and on inside of spine • "Lady Cholmeley" in chalk on bottom underside • Dated in chalk on inside of the upper belly rail 1762ProvenanceOwned by Lotta Van Buren; transferred in early 1930s to Lula Gertrude Bagwell, who gave it to Converse College in 1978; in 1997 transferred to CWF
