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Guitar

Maker:
Bruce BecVar (born 1953)
Date:
1973–74
Geography:
Cotati, California, United States
Culture:
American
Medium:
Ebony, koa, mahogany, rosewood, birdseye maple, benen, bone, wire, abalone, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ceramic, brass
Dimensions:
Height: 39 1/8 in. (99.4 cm) Width: 17 5/16 in. (43.9 cm) Depth: 1 7/16 in. (3.7 cm)
Classification:
Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
Credit Line:
Gift of Arthur N. BecVar, 1980
Accession Number:
1980.544
Not on view
This solid body electric guitar is carved and inlaid with exotic woods including ebony, koa, mahogany, rosewood, bird's eye maple, as well as bone, wire, abalone, and mother-of-pearl. There are two removable front plates on the body of the guitar on either side of the pickups. The left plate features an inlaid decoration representing the story of David and Goliath. The right (treble) plate holds the tone control knobs. The upper bouts are carved to represent fanged snakes with turquoise eyes. The instrument has ceramic magnetic pick-ups and an adjustable brass bridge and string fastener recessed in the body.
Marking: (at the bottom of the fingerboard) "B" and "Vee-Vee"
Arthur N. BecVar
Our Tuneful Heritage: American Musical Instruments from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exhibition catalogue., Brigham Young University. Provo, Utah, 1994, pg. 61, fig. 17, ill.

A Checklist of American Musical Instruments. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1989, pg. 26.

American Musical Instruments in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1985, pg. 21, 134, fig. 9, 158, ill.



Timelines
The United States and Canada, 1900 A.D.–present

American Musical Instruments in The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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