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Guitar, 1697
Jean-Baptiste Voboam (French, 1658–after 1731)
Paris
Wood, tortoiseshell; L. 37 3/8 in. (94.9 cm)
Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 1989 (1989.147)

The back, sides, neck, and peghead of this guitar are overlaid with tortoiseshell, ebony, and ivory chevrons with framed scrollwork, lozenges, and geometric banding and edging. The top has a gilded rosette bordered by a band of mother-of-pearl ornaments. Originally strung with five pairs of strings, this instrument was converted in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century to six single courses.


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    Guitar, 1697
    Jean-Baptiste Voboam (French, 1658–after 1731)
    Paris
    Wood, tortoiseshell; L. 37 3/8 in. (94.9 cm)
    Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 1989 (1989.147)