Copy of a Ruckers 'spinett' virginal
Made in Edinburgh by Grant O’Brien in 1981
Details about
the lock and outer decoration
The original false green
porphyry decoration of the outer case survives on the rear spine side of the
original of this instrument in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. This decoration consisted of a base layer of
dark green paint with thick paint coloured in various shades from very dark to
very light green over top of this. The
effect is very crude and doesn’t really resemble genuine porphyry marble very
closely.. Off-white lines around the
edges of the surfaces were painted on as borders.
The front flap of Ruckers virginals was traditionally hinged along its lower edge to the front edge of the baseboard. Normally the flap was permanently attached to the edge of the baseboard and the instrument was played in a standing position. The lid could be locked to this flap using a normal hasp and lock as shown in this figure. In this case of this copy the axle pins of the front flap hinges were made so that they could be removed in order to remove the front flap to allow the players knees to pass underneath the stand in the usual modern seated position.
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