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Alto Recorder in F

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Alto Recorder in F

I. B. Gahn 

Date:
ca. 1700
Geography:
Nürnberg, Germany
Culture:
Nuremberg, Germany
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
L. 48.6 cm (19 1/8 in.)
Classification:
Aerophone-Whistle Flute
Credit Line:
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number:
89.4.909

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 684

  • Description

    Johann Benedikt Gahn was admitted as master in the Nürnberg wood turners guild in 1698. Specializing in musical instruments he maintained a workshop until his death in 1711. About sixteen recorders and a few oboes of ivory or boxwood have survived. Some of his recorders, like this one, feature a carved decoration with acanthus leaves and a mask, a motive, linked to Nürnberg, and appearing on other instruments by other makers. It occurs on peg boxes of viols and on recorders of the famous Nürnberg woodwind maker, Johann Wilhelm Oberlender the Elder (1681–1763). The alto recorder, one of several members of the recorder family, became the favorite size after 1700 and many chamber pieces were written for it. It was also assigned solo tasks in orchestral works of the period.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Marking: I.B. Gahn (in scroll)

  • References

    Young Phillip T. 4900 Historical Woodwind Instruments: An Inventory of 200 Makers in International Collections. Phillip T. Young. London, 1993, pg. 84.

    Libin Laurence. A Checklist of European & American Flageolets, Recorders, & Tabor Pipes. 2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pg. 14, ill.

    Libin Laurence. "Musical Instruments in The Metropolitan Museum." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1978), Vol. XXXV, No. 3, pg. 40, ill.

    Libin Laurence. A Checklist of Western European Flageolets, Recorders, and Tabor Pipes. 1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1976, pg. 7, ill.

    Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments: Europe. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1904, vol. I, pg. 116.



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    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
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