Summary
Documentation of four survey missions (December 2006, February and April 2007, February 2008) carried out at the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome (Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali). The aim was to measure the bass string-hole diameters in the bridges of historic lutes and to record the entire collection of plucked and bowed instruments not on public display. Several hundreds of photographs were collected and are now being processed together with the string samples. The images feed the “Museum Old String Database” curated by Aquila Corde Armoniche.
Key takeaways
- Four survey missions at the National Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome over the 2006–2008 period (December 2006, February and April 2007, February 2008).
- Practically the whole collection of plucked and bowed instruments was recorded, harps excluded.
- Hundreds of photographs collected, including instruments not on display or in damaged state.
- Primary technical target: the bass string-hole diameters in historic lute bridges, a direct clue to the gauge of the original strings.
- Data and string samples feed the Museum Old String Database.
Investigations concerning lute bass bridge-hole measurements and contributing to the “Museum Old String Database” project (December 2006, February and April 2007, February 2008).
We collected several hundreds of pictures, practically all the plucked and bowed instruments of the museum (harps excluded). The work now consists in processing the collected data together with the string samples.
Photographic gallery of the survey campaigns
Twenty-nine images from the four campaigns carried out at the museum between 2006 and 2008. Each thumbnail links to the full-resolution photograph.
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