This part of the website outlines the history and restoration of a stunningly-beautiful double-manual harpsichord.
Here you will find the details of a Franco-Flemish double-manual harpsichord made in Antwerp by Frans van Huffel in 1617. This instrument was given an initial bass ravalement in Paris sometime between 1742 and 1750, by an unknown maker. It then received a truly major alteration when it was lavishly decorated in Paris in 1750 by the well-known French painters François Boucher and Christophe Huet. At this same date it was given a bass ravalement by the famous French harpsichord maker François Étienne Blanchet facteur de clavessins du roi (harpsichord maker to the king). Both Boucher and Huet worked on numerous projects for Louis XV, which were commissioned for him by Mme de Pompadour. Later is was given a further treble ravalement in 1786 by Jacques Barberini and Nicolas Hoffman, also in Paris.
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This absolutely splendid harpsichord was made in Antwerp by Frans van Huffel in 1617, the date given in all of the early records of the instrument. According to the records of the Guild of St Luke, in De Mededelingen van het Ruckers Genootschap, Frans van Huffel was the only active harpsichord maker working in Antwerp in 1617, other than Ioannes and Andreas Ruckers. Many features of the instrument indicate clearly that it was not made by either of the two Ruckers brothers. This harpsichord can therefore confidently be attributed to Frans van Huffel and dated 1617. It was given an initial bass ravalement in Paris sometime between 1742 and 1750 by an unknown maker. Then it was ravalé by François Étienne Blanchet, Paris in 1750 to a commission from Mme de Pompadour for the Court of Louis XV. The compass of the 1750 ravalement was F1 to d3. The harpsichord was then given a final grand ravalement 1786 by Jacques Barberini and Nicolas Hoffman in Paris, who extended the treble compass up to f3 so that it had the usual French grand ravalement 5-octave compass with four registers including 2x8', 1x4' and a nasal. It also was also given a genouillère to swell and diminish the whole sound. The stand, which has never been enlarged must also date to 1786. This harpsichord has one of the finest, most harmonious, and most even sounds of any French 18th-century harpsichord in the world. In addition to its amazing sound, this harpsichord bears the names of Christophe Huet, François Boucher and François Blanchet, some of the most famous names in the French 18th-century harpsichord world!
Click on the images and links below and at the bottom of this page to see more images and some highly detailed information about this splendid instrument.
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This stunningly-beautiful double-manual harpsichord started life as a relatively simple 'transposing' harpsichord made in Antwerp in 1617, It was almost certainly originally built by Frans van Huffel in Antwerp. Initially, It resembled in most, but not all of its details, a normal Ruckers-family double-manual harpsichord. After an initial, relatively simple ravalement carried out sometime before 1750, it was then given a further substantial bass ravalement, plus a treble compass extension up to d3, by the famoud Parisian harpsichord maker François Étienne Blanchet (who later became the court harpsichord maker to Louis XV). Then, much later during the second half of the eighteenth-century, it was given a series of ravalements in Paris in several stages. These alterations and the decorations carried out at the same time were undertaken by some of the most important and famous French harpsichord makers, decorators and artists in the period from about 1742 - 1786. At some date between 1742 - 1750 the first grand ravalement widened the case, increasing the bass compass down to F1. In 1750 it was then also given its exceptionally lavish decoration by François Boucher and Christophe II Huet. The harpsichord was then given a final grand ravalement in Paris in 1786 by Jacques Barberini and Nicolas Hoffman, who extended the treble compass up to f3 so that it then had the usual French grand ravalement 5-octave compass with four registers including 2x8', 1x4' and a nasal.
It seems highly likely that it was initially given its extravagant decoration because of its amazing sound and it is, indeed, still today, perhaps the finest-sounding instruments in the entire history of French harpsichord making. Almost certainly because of its outstanding sound, it seems to have played an important role in the social and musical life of the French Court at the time of Louis XV.
The history of the instrument between 1786 and 1883 is unknown.
Some of the modern history of the instrument
The instrument has also had an amazing modern history ranging across much of Western Europe, the United States and South America, and includes many of the important figures in the modern harpsichord revival. As a result, it therefore turns out to be a very important document in the history of the modern revival of interest in the harpsichord and its music. Shortly before 1889 it was restored by Louis Tomasini in Paris, and was played in the concerts given by Louis Diémer during the 1889 Exposition Universelle for which the Eiffel Tower was built. Its modern history involves some highly-important figures who influenced major world events - but not necessarily involving music nor furniture decoration!
Click on the images and links below for more information.
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Click on this image to see details of the 1927 Sotheby's sale catalogue. |
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| The sections below relate to the scientific studies of the paintwork and decoration and to how these relate to the attribution of the various states and OF THE painter/decorators who worked on this instrument | ||||
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Some important personalities in the French court around 1750. |
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The 4 images on the right all show clear evidence of the work of Christophe II Huet in the decoration of the instrument. |
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| A huge number of scientific analysis have been carried out on the paintwork of the instrument, including UV examination, IR photography, grazing light photography and numerous pigment-composition analyses. In addition a careful dimensional analysis has also been carried out in the course of the study and restoration of this instrument. | ||||
Listen to the sound of this splendid instrument here - we strongly recommend that you use good quality
earphones to listen to the instrument in order to get the full resonance of the sound!
Important
Features of this harpsichord
A brief history of the musical and decorative states of the Franco-Flemish harpsichord
Details of
the original state of the instrument
Details of the eighteenth-century states of this harpsichord
Details of the modern history of this harpsichord
Problems encountered in the ethical restoration of this harpsichord
This page was last revised on 11 September 2025.
