New Harpsichord Finished - Sapele and Chinoiserie

[Ernie Miller]

Hi all,

For the past six months I've been working on an instrument somewhat out of my comfort zone. While most of you don't care for painted wood, most of my instruments are just that - painted. I thought it was time to try something new (for me) and convinced my decorative painter (Sandy, my wife) to try her hand at chinoiserie. The platform stand and bench are Sapele, and the case is poplar painted black (sorry about that) and decorated with chinoiserie. This was an interesting and challenging project - fun too!

Thanks for looking.

Ernie


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[Richard Wolf]

Beautiful Ernie. I'm just amazed at the quality of these instruments. Thanks for posting this.

[Carroll Courtney]

I am at a loss for words Ernie,just staring at a work of art.Not only your craftsmanship but your wifes painting skills,if you get a chance would love to see a pic from above showing the hardware.Not that I have listen to alot of harpsichord play before but I do remember the sound from all of Vincent Price's movies,love the sound it makes.Tks for posting---Carroll

[Paul Symchych]

Lovely!! I know the amount of fussy and often tedious work that goes into these. I've built two. The "good" one is a double manual in cherry with a QS crossbanded cherry border and an intervening strip of holly. My base was nowhere as fancy as yours. That one took me a couple of years working at it episodically. No desire to do it again.
I don't play but built 'em for the hell of it. The 7 footer was donated to a university.

Where did you buy the mechanical 'guts' of the instrument?

[Bill ThompsonNM]

F​antastic! I always have to show your pictures around. They're always so well done I want to share them with others.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

That is fantastic Ernie! Instrument makers skills amaze me, but you took it to a new level. How does it sound? Vivaldi's harpsichord concerto's get some serious play time in my shop.

[Tom Fischer]

Wow, that is really awesome craftsmanship. Both you and the dear wife.

BTW, I think that folks used to paint a lot of furniture, and a lot of trim in expensive houses too. Probably a case that in wintertime, didn't see much but gray skies, with big screen TVs and iPads being kind of scarce in the 18th century. I was at Geo. Washington's Mr. Vernon 25 years ago. The dining room was some wild color (green?), don't remember what, restored to his original color scheme, no doubt.

I have a 150+ year old grandfather clock, made in Norway. Painted green and red. Even has a pull cord inside. If your friends/neighbors come to visit, you can pull the cord and listen to the bell strike whenever you wanted to hear it. Entertainment in the 19th century.

[Richard Wolf]

Ernie, is Chinoiserie a French from of decoration or is it Chinese?

[Bruce Page]

Another masterpiece! Are there any YouTube videos of someone playing one of your harpsichords?

[Val Kosmider]

I am SO out of my league coming here and seeing what fine craftsman can create.

Humble doesn't even begin to describe the feeling.

Just magnificent!

[Bruce Volden]

+1 on what "the other Bruce" said---I would love to hear this one if you have the time to post a clip!

Bruce

[Marty Gulseth]

Just....superlative.

[Scott Reed]

I build musical instruments. Wouldn't even know where to begin on something like that. That is beautiful in every way!

[George Gyulatyan]

Another magnificent instrument!

[Frank Drew]

Ernie, is Chinoiserie a French from of decoration or is it Chinese?

Richard,

It's a Western (mostly European, at least originally) decorative style meant to evoke, if not exactly imitate, Chinese decorative forms. For centuries, the West has gone through periods of infatuation with various things Asian.

[Stan Smith]

Exquisite!!!!

[Will Boulware]

Wow! Fascinating and very humbling at the same time. Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece!

[Gus Dundon]

This is one of the coolest ideas and builds that I have seen in a long time. Another masterpiece!

[Ryan Mooney]

I'm one of those "don't like painted wood people" but I'll certainly make an exception here :eek: That is simply fantastic work at all levels.

Truly inspiring, thank you for sharing.