''Rectangular Octave Virginal'' is a 16th-century
virginal
The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
Description
A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...
in the style of Samuel Biedermann the Elder, probably made in Augsburg about 1600. It is in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
Early history and creation
Little is known of the early history of this specific instrument. It was donated by
Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown
Mary Elizabeth Adams Brown (1842–1918) was an American writer, collector, and curator of musical instruments.
She is best known for her collection of musical instruments that she donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
She worked together wit ...
and is part of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments gifted in 1889, where it is classified as a ''Chordophone-Zither-plucked-virginal''. It is decorated with hand-painted engravings by
Hans Sebald Beham
Sebald Beham (1500–1550) was a German painter and printmaker, mainly known for his very small engravings. Born in Nuremberg, he spent the later part of his career in Frankfurt. He was one of the most important of the "Little Masters", the group ...
and
Crispijn van de Passe I.
Description and interpretation
The left engraving shows the return of Tobias, showing the scene where the angel Raphael from
The Book of Tobit takes leave of old Tobit and Sarah before flying off into heaven (his flight can be seen through the window). Tobit seated next to his bride under the cloth of honor looks at the angel. The right engraving shows a scene from the
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...
when a hand writes the prophecy on the wall during
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...
's feast (his murder can be seen in the background).
File:Crispijn van de Passe after Maerten de Vos - Return of Tobias RP-P-1966-466.jpg, ''Tobias junior cum angelo et Sara sponsa sua domum redeuntes honorifice a parentibus'', Van de Passe after (the engraving on the left)
File:Rectangular Octave Virginal MET DT10869.jpg
File:Crispijn van de Passe after Maerten de Vos - Belshazzar's feast RP-P-1966-467.jpg, ''Belshazzar's feast
Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the First Temple. A hand appears and ...
'', Van de Passe after (the engraving on the right)
Later history and influence
The presence of the engravings helps to both date the piece as well as give a glimpse into the popular scenes from the bible after the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
.
See also
*
Ottavini (singular form: ''Ottavino'') — miniature virginals with octave higher pitch, produced by both Italian and northern schools.
*
Double virginals — known as Mother and Child (moeder und kind), the instruments combined a normal virginal and ottavino, produced by Flemish school, in particular the Ruckers family.
References
{{Metropolitan Museum of Art
Individual string instruments
Harpsichord
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art