Baroque Guitar Roses on Vihuelas

[Edward C. Yong]

Hi!

How do people feel about baroque guitar roses from the 1600s being used on vihuelas supposedly built in the style of the 1500s?

[Siebren Weertman]

Not very many vihuelas survived and we cannot know whether these could be historically accurate, so regarding that I don't have much of an opinion.

Other than that, I do think they look lovely.

[Martyn Hodgson]

As said in answer to a similar query:

Go to the site of the Jacquemart Andree collection in Paris and look for the vihuela there.  It represents the only indisputable example of a sixteenth century vihuela (albeit a bass size instrument). Obtain a copy of the plans and base your reconstruction (and rose pattern and type) on this - necessarily scaled down if you require an instrument around nominal G tuning rather than a 'bass' vihuela.

Here's one link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GuadalupeVihuela.png

Regarding rose type, you'll also see that the (original) rose design is much plainer than found on most later five course guitar roses, but is not cut into the belly wood as with a lute.

Milan and other contemporary iconography show a similar arrangement