
Epinette des vosges, box zither. Acquired: Ex-Bull Collection. France ?. A fretted zither consisting of a wooden box, tapering slightly towards one end where there is a wide pegbox and scroll. The five wire strings are attached to five lateral, opposing pegs. Three of the strings are to be played open, the other two pass over 17 frets. The frets give a range of two octaves of a diatonic major scale with an additional descent to the lower sub-dominant but without the lowest dominant. The lowest fret is set slightly flat, the highest a little sharp. The sound board and ribs are decorated with parquetry. 2 sound holes, 1 heart-shaped and one quatrefoil.