The "Memling" Hog Nose Psaltery

Original design based on "Angels Making Music" by Hans Memling, c. 1480. It is black walnut and salvaged Douglas fir with hand-carved maple and black walnut soundhole rosettes.

I base this 3-octave hog-nose psaltery on the famous painting by Hans Memling, "Angels Making Music", housed in the Antwerp Museum. It is one of those incredibly detailed Dutch paintings from around 1480 that shows many instruments of the period. I have always played the hog-nose psaltery with the "snout" pointed up (bass strings on bottom), which seems natural to my style of playing, but nearly all paintings, illustrations, and carvings show the reverse, the "snout" pointing down. I always feel that whatever's comfortable is the best way to play it. This is a single-course instrument (one string per note).

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