Lute

Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker German (active Italy)

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681


This lute was constructed as a bass instrument with eight or ten courses. As musical styles changed, lutes were often updated; this instrument was altered to its current thirteen courses of strings with four open bass strings. The popularity of the lute created a market for specialized craftsmen. The earliest lute-making center was in the town of Füssen, Bavaria, where a guild was established in the sixteenth century. Guild restrictions and upheavals caused by regional wars led many German lute makers to move to Italy. Originally from Bavaria, the Tieffenbrucker family became the most important dynasty of lute makers. Their specialty was the use of narrow yew wood staves to form the bowl of the lute, such as the thirty-seven bicolor yew staves on this instrument.

#Menuet by Silvius Leopold Weiss Played by Dennis Cinelli Darren O'Neill, engineer June 11, 2007 Musical Instruments East Gallery (India)

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  1. Menuet by Silvius Leopold Weiss Played by Dennis Cinelli Darren O'Neill, engineer June 11, 2007 Musical Instruments East Gallery (India)
  2. Lahcrimae by John Dowland, played by Christopher Morrongiello, 2015.
  3. 9461. Lute
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Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian

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Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian
Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian
Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian
Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian
Lute, Attributed to Wendelin Tieffenbrucker (German, active 1570–1610), Yew, spruce, ebony, maple, Italian

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