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Lot Essay
By the end of the seventeenth century, Amsterdam had become the musical centre of the Netherlands. A growing demand for instruments led many craftsmen to Amsterdam from surrounding countries. Hendrik Richters (1694 - 1770), the elder of two brothers, was born in Amsterdam, although the family originally came from Munster. Considered the best turner of his time, Richters used the most luxurious materials, and his workmanship was second to none. In a period when most instruments were made in boxwood, Richters frequently worked in ebony, decorating his instruments with ivory and turning the instruments with great skill, using a special lathe to turn the ivory. Specimens of this makers work are rare:- there are examples however, in the Haags Gemeentemuseum and The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
It is posible that this instrument was bought for Chirk by Richard Myddelton (d.1795), whose wife and children were clearly musical, like the harpsichord by Burkhat Sindi, which is dated 1742 but actually came to Chirk in 1766.
It is posible that this instrument was bought for Chirk by Richard Myddelton (d.1795), whose wife and children were clearly musical, like the harpsichord by Burkhat Sindi, which is dated 1742 but actually came to Chirk in 1766.