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A
Dutch cittern from the XVII century
(Collection
NISA- Lelystad-The Netherlands)
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Research
and reconstruction
by
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Sebastián
Núñez & Verónica Estevez
The
shipwreck (Beurtschip ‘B71’) |
In
august 1980, working in the “Gordiaandreef” in the city of
Lelystad, The Netherlands, a team of labourers found a shipwreck.
The wreck was 18,85 meter long and 5,15 meter wide. |
The
ship was lying on its side at an angle of 50 degrees under the mud.
Two coins from 1614 and 1619 give us the earliest approximate date
of its sinking, (namely 1619). |
The
wood is conserved with PEG (polyethyleenglycol) in the NISA (Nederlandse Instituut voor Sheeps- en onderwater
Archeologie- Lelystad). This was a kind of ferry ship which
served between
Amsterdam and other cities in the north like Kampen or Zwolle. (Dutch
name: Beurtschip). |
The
ship was found almost complete and that make it unique. |
Because
of the way the ship sank, all the things inside moved to its lower
side and were preserved in good condition under the mud. There were
found at least five hundred objects and among which were two
citterns. |
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Shipwreck in the NISA
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Drawing of the
same kind of ship as found in the book |
"Aeloude
Scheeps-bouw en Bestier" |
Nicolaes Witsens,
1671 |
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The citterns |
It
is quite unusual to find musical instruments in shipwrecks,
especially string instruments. In this case we are referring to the
remains of two very well preserved ones, and, as far as we can see,
identical four courses Dutch citterns. |
They
are comparable to those we can see on Dutch paintings of the Golden
Age (XVII century). They have, for example, ten strings separated in
four courses (two double strung and two triple strung) as we see in
many realistic paintings and engravings. |
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The complete research on
the citterns from Lelystad has been published by Kloster MIchaelstein,
Blankenburg, Germany in 2004 |
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Johannes Vermeer
The love
letter
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Johannes
Vermeer
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Cittern
player by Caesar
van Everdingen |
Rouen,
Musee des Beaux-Arts, inv.nr. 907-1-85 |
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The pieces of the two citterns |
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One of the pegboxes
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Pieces of strings still on
the pegs
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A piece of a soundboard (external
view)
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Inside view of a soundboard
with burned traces
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Brass nails
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Piece of a fingerboard
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Fingerboard end
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Drawing of all the pieces found
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Reconstruction Drawing
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Reconstruction made by SebastiánNúñez and
Verónica Estevez |
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