Germany
Unknown – Baroque Style

Maple, Spruce, metal
ca. 1900
Height: 53 in
Strings – Lutes – Guitars

A German Baroque style eighteen string bass ‘theorbo’ made circa 1900. These large bass lutes were used for song accompaniments and for basso continuo parts well into the music of the 18th century. 

This plucked and strummed reproduction lute has a resonating curved-back sound box of segmented satinwood maple and a flat top spruce table.  Extending from the resonator tear-shaped box is an extended fretted neck that houses two pegboxes. The top peg box has six pegs and six double strings.  The pegboxes are connected by an ‘S’ curve in the instrument’s neck.  This second pegbox also has six pegs and six single strings.  The top peg box terminates in a leaflike (foliate) curved motif.’