Guitar by Belchior Dias

Small five-course Renaissance guitar; front, c.1730, with later nut and bridge for five single strings. Later front, probably French, the moustaches, decoration in ebony and boxwood around soundholes. Bridge is later than front and moustaches. Back of seven staves of ?kingwood. Three-part lines along centres of alternate staves; line along centre of middle stave continues up neck and peghead; lines along centre of ribs continue along neck to peghead sides. Neck and top-block carved in one piece from solid ebony; ebony peghead, the front veneered with two pieces of a tropical hardwood (?brazilwood), bookmatched. Fingerboard of four strips of the same wood as peghead facing, with alternating grain direction and marquetry interlace pattern in three-line purfling; lowest section a replacement in ebony. Later ebony nut for five single strings. Ten pegholes. Nine later pegs present.