Name of Instrument: harp

Maker / Brand:

Stearns Catalog #: 1376

Country of Origin: Italy?

Region of Origin: Europe

Instrument Category: Chordophone

Date of Fabrication: 16th C. [spurious]

Location: CHO V 2

Description: This instrument may have come to the Stearns Collection from a highly questionable source--Leopoldo Franciolini. Many Franciolini instruments are forgeries or interesting hybrids of original instruments and scrap wood. In this case we have a very poorly crafted Harp with with a round pillar that is fastened to the wood crossbar with a sheet of brass and nails. The crossbar is attached to the spruce (?) resonance chamber with a brass plate, nails, and glue. Twenty-six crude wrest pins extend out of the left side of the crossbar (arranged in two rows). The resonance chamber has one oval sound hole. This harp has twenty-six strings that are obviously sourced from a piano; they attach to wooden screws on the sound board. Like some other Franciolini instruments, the inferior quality that was tolerated speaks more about the knowledge--or lack of it--of the collectors than it does the maker.

Research: Dr. Bruce Mitchell Smith and Stearns Staff