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Bagpipe (musette)
mid-18th century
Object Place: France
Medium/Technique
Ebony, ivory, leather, cloth
Dimensions
Large chanter length (without reed) 29.2 cm (11 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Leslie Lindsey Mason Collection
Accession Number17.1936
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsMusical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Aerophones
DescriptionTwo chanters and six drones. Leather bag covered with blue velvet and silver braid. Three stocks: one of which has attached to it the bourdon cylinder, and extends 12.5 cm. into the bag, forming a protective cap for the drone reeds. The bag is inflated by bellows. Two chanters are attached to one stock; the smaller chanter is fixed on the larger. The bourdon consists of a rosewood cylinder in which are drilled sixteen cylindrical bores connected into six independent systems forming the tubes of the drones. The pitch of the drones is regulated by seven sliders of ivory (layettes) fitted into swallowtail grooves, the bottoms of which are covered with leather. The ivory sliders have steel shoes that are pressed against the leather bottom of the grooves by steel springs, thus insuring an airtight fit. The drones are fitted with double reeds. The large chanter (le grand chalumeau) has an open cylindrical bore with a flaring bell, seven finger- holes in the front, one of which (the lowest) is double as on No. 99 for half- stopping, and a thumb-hole in the rear; two vent-holes on the bell; no keys. The small chanter (le petit chalumeau) consists of a small closed tube with six silver keys; it is attached so that it is parallel to the large chanter. Both chanters are made of ebony and both are fitted with double reeds. The stocks, the bourdon, and the chanters are tipped with ivory; the whole instrument is of excellent workmanship.
ProvenanceFrancis W. Galpin (1858-1945), Hatfield Regis, England; 1916, sold by Francis W. Galpin to William Lindsey (1858-1922), Boston, Massachusetts; 1916, gift of William Lindsey, in memory of his daughter, Leslie Lindsey Mason, to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 5, 1916)