Counterfeit Ruckers Instruments in the MIM Collection: A Case Study of the So-Called “Ruckers-Taskin” Harpsichord

Abstract

The use of archeometrical tools has shed light on the true history of the so-called “Ruckers-Taskin” harpsichord (Musical Instruments Museum, Brussels, inv. 3848), an instrument that is neither a Ruckers nor a Taskin but a French instrument from c. 1695, falsified around 1750 by Antoine Vater and ravalé by Pascal Taskin in 1774.

Keywords

• harpsichord
• ruckers
• taskin
• counterfeit
• archeometrical tools