TYPE
Acoustic Hollow Body Six-course vihuela
FEATURES
Rosettes and inlaid mosaic on the soundbox
spruce top, flat back of palm wood and Dalbergia in a flared pattern
INFORMATION
Only three vihuelas have survived, as many of these instruments have been converted into baroque guitars. The Guadalupe vihuela from the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris is the oldest and most richly decorated surviving example. The back is decorated with a beautiful geometric pattern that almost surpasses the beauty of the top. The neck, heel and headstock are made in one piece and the sides consist of interlocking panels of palm wood Dalbergia. The strings are almost 80 cm/31 inches long. It is therefore an unusually large instrument not representative of the vihuelas of the time. The letters GVADALVPE are burned in the head of the vihuela. Some say they refer to the instrument maker Joan de Guadalupe from Toledo.
