Hans/Andreas Rueckers Epinette, Virginal or Harpsichord

   Hans/Andreas Rueckers Epinette/Virginal or Harpsichord

17^th century, the Stradivarius among harpsichord
Information from Boalch, Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord, 1440-1840, p.551:

Type:  Rectangular virginal. one-of-a-kind octave quint virginal

Date: 1610

Inscriptions: Ruckers number /51

Specification: 1x4

Compass: C/E-c³, short octave

Keyboard:  White naturals, black sharps

Number of roses: 1

Style of rose:  Seated harping figure

Exterior of case:  Painted

Scale: 147 mm

Length: 711 mm, Width: 380 mm, Depth: 185 mm

Remarks:  The only surviving Ruckers 2.5-voet virginal at pitch R+9 - a unique, but undated, instrument authenticated by O'Brien - his number (c. 1610)a AR.  The instrument is not part of a mother and child combination, but stands in its own right.  Because of its unique position in the range of Ruckers instruments, it is the subject of considerable investigation and comparison by O'Brien .....  The outer case is shaped like a small writing desk, and is painted in the standard Ruckers green marbling.  An internal lid painting shows courtiers in a landscape with a castle.  The date of c. 1610 is ascribed on the basis of the rose and soundboard decoration.

Reference:  O'Brien, G. Grant: Ruckers, a harpsichord and virginal building tradition.  Cambridge, CUP 1990