In 2020 Deutsches Museum in Munich embarked on a refurbishment of its musical instrument gallery with special emphasis on the Erard harp in their collection that can be seen in the right of the picture.
We were commissioned to supply three Grecian harp capitals that would have their own display case and show the various stages of manufacture from bare wood to gilded ornament; application of gesso, fitting of figures, application of bole and examples of oil and water gilding.
“Engaging ‘Harp Revive’ to develop and produce the display in our refurbished musical instrument exhibition was an easy and good choice due to their enthusiasm, expertise, and in-depth technical knowledge of the construction methods and materials used in early harps.”
Dr. Panagiotis Poulopoulos, Deutsches Museum, München
The original harp capitals were made from 5 pieces of English Sycamore glued together with an additional piece glued in where the neck will be fitted. The block was trimmed on a band saw then turned on a lathe. The block for the neck was glued in using a weak water-based glue to hold it in place whilst being turned. Once turned, the neck blank block was removed using hot water.
