D E C O R A T I V E   O P T I O N S

Italian-style harpsichords are supplied with a simple three-leg stand of stained wood. German-style harpsichords have a four-leg trestle stand, also of stained wood.

Several more elaborate stand options are available. These stands are in the style appropriate to the historical period and the country of the instruments they belong with, but they are not necessarily exact copies of any particular antique.

For the Italian-style instruments I offer a lyre-shaped trestle stand. This design, in its infinite variations, was popular in Italy and beyond throughout the Renaissance and most of the Baroque period. The trestle can have different leg configurations, silhouette, and choice of wood. Please contact me for further details.

For the German-style instrument, I offer a serpentine stand with 7 faceted or turned legs. This type of stand is found on many of the surviving German instruments as well as innumerable antique tables, consoles, and the like. It is perhaps not the most practical option for a musician on the move, as this kind of stand is much bulkier, heavier and more difficult to disassemble than a simpler four-leg trestle stands. It is, however, exceptionally handsome (see image).

A cabriole-leg stand is also an option for both the Italian and the German instruments.

Music desk
A matching music desk is included with every instrument. It is separate from the instrument and rests on the outer case. The desk can be made larger or smaller according to a customer's preferences, it can also be made to slide from side to side and recline at different angles - features that are appreciated by continuo players.

Bench
A matching bench is offered for custom stands in every style. The bench may have a compartment inside the seat for storing tools and music.

Key well and jack rail
Italian instruments were often decorated with delicate moldings on the name board and jack rail. I offer this option for an additional fee. The other option is geometric inlay in ebony stringing, often found on 16th century and earlier instruments (the Trasuntino prototype has it), or more free-flowing, baroque-style curved inlay.

My German-style name boards, cheeks, and jack rails can be adorned with the traditional "rose of winds" or similar inlay in ebony and holly or bone.

Case decoration
An Italian instrument is an exquisite thing to behold even without any additional decoration (see more on Italian-style instruments in About the Instruments). One is loath to hide all this beauty inside an outer case. Some of my clients are musicians, however, while others lend their instruments to musicians for concerts and recordings, so the protective outer case is a necessity.

The obvious way to remedy the situation is to make the outer case beautiful in its own right. I offer several simple but effective in-house methods of adding visual interest to outer cases: gilded moldings and arabesques, as well as simple "broken color" glazes and other paint effects. I would also be happy to suggest an artist for more elaborate case decoration or for a lid painting.

The above also applies to my German-style instruments. Alternatively, the latter can have a case made of handsome wood such as walnut or cherry, left bare. And finally, the most spectacular option is the type of decoration which was prevalent in the German furniture of the period: walnut burl veneers inlayed in various wood types.

Soundboard rose
Italian harpsichords often had exquisite roses carved out of layers of parchment descending into the cavity of the instrument. I will be happy to arrange with a specialist artist for a rose of a customer's choosing.

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