Dear Matthew,
Yes it is a shame but I suspect long instruments pose a problem of
composition for artists, they seem so often to go off the picture
edge. Yes the ribs are rather beautifully scalloped, I do like that
effect. I think it is just a blob of paint but........ I'm not sure a
fashionable aristo would be up to bothering with tastini!
David
At 20:21 +0200 4/10/17, Matthew Daillie wrote:
Thanks David. Shame that we have only such a partial view of the
instrument. It would appear to have just 9 tied frets although it
does look as though there is another fret knot between the nut and
the first fret. A double fret for mean tone perhaps; or maybe just a
blob of paint! The ribs seem to be quite deeply scalloped don't you
think?
Best,
Matthew
On 04/10/2017 14:19, David Van Edwards wrote:
There's an interesting painting showing the back and part of the
lower pegbox of a French theorbo with its distinctive pierced
fretwoork pegbox and chanterelle slot. It is coming up for auction
in Vienna on 17/10/17 and can be seen here:
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/auctions/current-auctions/kataloge/list-lots-detail/auktion/12759-old-master-paintings/lotID/123/lot/2282371-jean-ranc.html?currentPage=5&img=0
Of course it could be an Angelique since we can't see the bridge or
string layout but pictures of either French type from c.1700 are
rare enough for this to be interesting. And Ranc was working at the
right level in the Paris social environment for this to be a proper
example.
Best wishes,
David
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