Copy of a ‘French’ model Ruckers harpsichord
Made in
Edinburgh by Grant O’Brien in 1985
Details about
the decoration of this copy
The decoration of this instrument is based on the surviving features of the traditional decoration of many Ruckers instruments. The outside of the case and lid are marbled to imitate a red marble seen in many buildings and architectural features in Antwerp (for example the lower rusticated surface of the exterior of the Stadhuis (Town Hall) in Antwerp).
The inside surfaces of the case and lid are decorated with
hand-printed block papers made from blocks cut and printed by Grant O’Brien. The inside of the lid uses a block-printed
pattern which is meant to imitate
green watered silk , although the same pattern
was also printed in an ink the colour of brown ochre to simulate figured ash
(sometimes miscalled 'Hungarian Ash'). The natural keyplates are made of bone and
the sharps are of bog oak, both of these being the materials traditionally used
in the original Ruckers instruments. In
many places - on the lid, jackrail, the upper case mouldings and the front
keywell moulding for example - the underlying poplar wood is left visible and
is covered only in a layer of varnish.
All of the decoration including
the preparation of the block-printed papers, the soundboard painting, and the
case marbling was carried out by Grant O’Brien.
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