Un-discarded images: illustrations of antique musical instruments in 17th- and 18th-century books, their sources and transmission
Naomi Joy Barker is an independent scholar, teacher and performer based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She works mainly on 17th-century music and its contexts. barkernj{at}tiscali.co.uk
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Abstract |
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Illustrations of ancient musical instruments appear in encyclopaedias, histories and general books on music from the 17th century onwards. This article examines the origins of some of these images, a number of which may be traced back to the early 17th century and to the so-called ‘Paper Museum’ of Cassiano dal Pozzo. The author also suggests that while later writers may deal critically with the text content of their sources, the illustrations have not been subject to the same level of scrutiny. Reproductions of images appear, often without acknowledgement, over a wide geographical area and considerable chronological span, disseminating visual information that becomes increasingly inaccurate. The lack of concern with illustrative detail sounds a warning about the use information gleaned from pictorial evidence, contained within often authoritative books, and the necessity to examine their sources.
Key Words: musical iconography • ancient musical instruments • aulos • crotala • cymbals • sistrum • tibia • Jean le Rond d'Alembert • Caspar Bartholin • Giovanni Pietro Bellori • Francesco Bianchini • Filippo Buonanni • Denis Diderot • Giovanni Battista Doni • Sir John Hawkins • Johann Nikolaus Forkel • Athanasius Kircher • Frederick Adolphe Lampe • Marin Mersenne • Lorenzo Pignoria • Cassiano dal Pozzo • Michael Praetorius • Jacques Spon