Double Virginal by Ruckers, H

The inner surfaces, revealed when the instrument is opened, are decorated with painted patterns, and the Latin inscription Mvsica Dvlce Laborvm Levamen (Sweet music is a balm for toil) hangs from the instrument like a banner. The jackrail of the smaller keyboard is signed "HANS RVEKERS ME FECIT" and the initials "HR" appear to the left of the larger keyboard. Over the larger keyboard two gilded medallions, profile portraits of Philip II of Spain and his wife Anne of Austria, face each other. The royal family may have commissioned this instrument to send to friends or emissaries in the New World, as it was found in Cuzco, Peru, in a hacienda chapel early in the twentieth century. Although it is not known who owned or played this instrument, keyboards often were associated with women musicians. Credit: Met Museum