Harpsichords
Anonymous Kit Harpsichord
A harpsichord assembled from a commercial kit in the 1970s, its original blue and red livery replaced with a neoclassical scheme of deep burgundy, gold garlands, and classical ornament.
About the Decoration
Kit-built harpsichords of the 1970s were often finished in bold, flat colors — practical and period-appropriate for the early revival, but rarely distinguished. This instrument arrived in just such a state: a serviceable blue and pink that gave no hint of what the case could become.
The new decoration draws on the neoclassical vocabulary of the late eighteenth century — swags, husks, and laurel garlands rendered in gold against a ground of deep burgundy. The palette is warm and formal, suited to an instrument that speaks in the French manner.
The transformation is as much about surface preparation as painting: stripping, priming, and laying in the ground colour before any ornament can begin. The finished instrument wears its new decoration lightly, as though it had always been intended.
Before: original blue and red kit finish