A Franco-Flemish double-manual harpsichord,
originally a transposing harpsichord made in Antwerp,
c.1620 and
ravalé in Paris in 1750 and then refait by Jacques Barberini, Paris, c.1775
Detail of the
case decoration
The outside
of the cheek, bentside and tail are decorated with paintings of putti or cupids
engaged in various amorous pursuits.
Here they can be seen sharpening their arrows in preparation for
shooting some hapless victim and sending him or her into swoons of ardent
desire. Other scenes show similar
figures engaged in target practice and, finally, returning from the hunt with
their chosen victim being pulled along in a chariot.
The painting appears to be done
in oil, and is painted on a ground of thick gold leaf. This type of decoration was known in the
eighteenth-century as ‘vernis martin’ after the Martin brothers who invented
and developed this luxurious type of furniture decoration.
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