Historical Details

Jean-Antoine Vaudry, Paris 1681

Until Shortly Before it´s Purchase by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, This instrument was Housed in the Chateau Savigny-les Beaune in Burgundy/France and had been Traditionally been There since the Early 18th Century.

It stood in Rooms Occupied by the Duchesse du Maine who was Exiled there after the Abortive Cellamare Conspiracy in 1718.

The Red and Gold Chinoiserie Decoration is said to have Echoed the Decor of the Room in which the Harpsichord stood. The Duchesse was of course Famed for her Patronage of Musicians and the Concerts she Organised at her own Chateau at Sceaux, outside Paris, were Widely Renowned at the Time.

The Possible Association with the Duchesse is made more Plausible by the Fact that Jean-Antoine Vaudry, the Maker of the Instrument, was Apparently Accredited to the French Court, as a Man of This Name is Recorded as „Seul Maitre Faiseur d`Instruments de Roi“ in a Document of 1718.

If this is the Case, the Instrument was made by a Craftsman who Produced Harpsichords for the Household of Louis XIV Himself and it would not then be Surprising that the Duchesse, who was his Daughter-in-Law, should have had an Instrument by the Same Maker and should have taken it with her into Exile.

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