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Bentside spinet

John Harris American
1769
Not on view
Spinets were so rarely made in colonial America that in 1769, when this example was finished, the Boston Gazette reported: "A few days since was shipped for Newport, a very curious Spinnet, being the first ever made in America, the performance of the ingenious Mr. John Harris, of Boston (Son of the late Mr. Joseph Harris, of London, Harpsichord and Spinnet Maker), and in every respect does Honour to that Artist".

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bentside spinet
  • Maker: John Harris (active ca. 1730–69)
  • Date: 1769
  • Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Mahogany, mahogany veneer, white oak,
    birch, maple, cherry, white cedar, white pine
  • Dimensions: 32 3/4 x 79 3/8 x 30 1/2 in. (83.2 x 201.6 x 77.5 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Anonymous Gift, Friends of the
    American Wing Fund, Sansbury-Mills, Dodge, and
    Pfeiffer Funds, and funds from various donors, 1976
  • Object Number: 1976.229
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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