Interiors...

The Rose

The rose is purely decorative and serves as a focal point of the soundboard, especially in instruments that have a soundboard painting. While most historical harpsichords have a rose, and some have multiple roses, instruments without a rose can also be found. Roses are usually made of metal although many are laboriously made from parchment. Builders sometimes make a mold from a metal rose and are thus able to duplicate the rose as often as necessary. A liquid plastic resing is poured into the mold and, in about 15 minutes, the liquid hardens into a solid that is an exact duplicate of the metal rose. The rose is subsequently gilded with gold leaf. This is the method I use. Surrounding the rose is a circular band of text that usually identifies the builder and year of construction. A wreath of flowers is then painted around the text band.