single manual, C-f3 (originally perhaps C/E-c3) | 8’ 8’ 4’ (originally perhaps 8’ 4’)
Simple case, painted russet, bordered with printed paper. The lid interior has been painted and decorated using excised and coloured engravings. The central scene draws on Carle van Loo, Le Grand Seigneur donnant un concert . sa ma.tresse (1737). The nameboard has been decorated using 20th-century printed paper. The instrument has been signed on the jack rail: ‘ANDREAS RUCKERS ANTVERPI. ANNO 1646’ (not original). The soundboard has been painted with flowers and animals. Notably, the painted edges are not in alignment with the shape of the case. The illustrations run under the frames. Its dimensions and decoration are the result of a major refurbishment carried out after 1737. This may have been done in Flanders; a base plate has survived showing technical instructions and annotations in Dutch. The instrument has been extended on the bass and descant sides alike. The lid is also an addition from a later date.William Post Ross restored the harpsichord in 1962–3 in the workshop of Frank Hubbard.
Provenance: Alphonse van Neste (Brussels, ? – 1962); William Post Ross (Boston, 1962–76); sold by William Post Ross to the Museum Vleeshuis (1976)
