Tenor Cornetto in D

Unknown

17th century · Wood, leather, metal · Musical Instruments

An S-shape tenor cornetto with a thumb hole and an open C-key. Made of two wooden halves with leather wrapping. The horn ring and mouthpiece are not original. Although we usually think of horns as being made of brass, the oldest and simplest of these instruments were commonly made of animal horn. The conical shape of animal horns used as signal or ritual instruments was retained in more sophisticated horns of metal and wood. The term "cornetto" comes from the Latin, "cornu" (horn), while "shofar" is related to the Sumerian name for a male goat of ibex. The falconer's horn and shofar produce only a few pitches, while the fingerholes of the bukkehorn and cornetto allow melodic playing.

Artist

Unknown

Date

17th century

Medium

Wood, leather, metal

Culture

French

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889