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Harpsichord

Pascal-Joseph Taskin1782

Museu Nacional da Música

Museu Nacional da Música
Lisboa, Portugal

National treasure and instrument of enormous organological value. It was built at the request of King Louis XVI of France, who offered it to his sister Maria Anna Clotilde.
Conceived in the most luxurious possible way, it is worth mentioning is box with high quality polychrome and painted chinoiserie, representing hunting and daily life scenes, as well as performers of lute, bells, trumpet and viol.

This harpsichord is an instrument of inestimable cultural value because of its rarity (only 8 harpsichords with Taskin’s signature survived until today), a reasonable state of conservation, and a great aesthetic, organological and scientific value, where it is possible to recognize a prestigious harpsichord builder’s signature, as some of the unique details of construction show.

It has also enormous historical value, linked to important figures of the European aristocracy as the already mentioned Louis XVI and his sister, but also King Umberto II of Italy, who offered it to the Marquise of the Cadaval, during his exile in Portugal.

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  • Title: Harpsichord
  • Creator: Pascal-Joseph Taskin
  • Date Created: 1782
  • Location Created: Paris, France
  • Physical Dimensions: H. 30.2 cm x L. 231.7 cm x W. 95.7 cm
  • Type: Musical Instrument
  • Contributor: Direção-Geral do Património Cultural / Arquivo de Documentação Fotográfica (DGPC/ADF)
  • Rights: Museu Nacional da Música, Lisboa
  • Medium: Wood, ebony, bone
Museu Nacional da Música

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