Phantasy Psalteries by Eric Meier


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eric@phantasypsalteries.com

Woods and Materials: Roses and Rosettes


In the most basic terms, a rosette is a decoration that sits around the soundhole, while a rose sits in the soundhole. While its presence is almost entirely aesthetic, it does serve an auxiliary purpose of reinforcing the wood around the soundhole opening. By being inlaid across the grain of the soundboard, the rosette can reinforce a vulnerable area of the instrument.

My standard rosette is a 5-sided shape that matches the geometry of the bowed psaltery itself. It is inlaid flush with the soundboard, and is made of real wood. There are a few main styles that I use for the rosette band, ranging from about 1/4" to 1/2" wide.

Standard Inlay Banding Rosettes

Bowed Psaltery Inlaid Rosette 10mm (about 3/8") width banding  - This is the most commonly used rosette, which I use mostly for lighter-colored tops like spruce.

This rosette banding has black and white borders with an interesting light/dark striped wood pattern in the middle. 

Bowed Psaltery Inlaid Rosette 5/16" width banding - I like to use this with soundboards that have some subtle hints of red in them. My first choice for cedar or redwood.

This rosette band has a white-black-white border, with a geometric pattern of black, red, and dark brown in the center. 

Bowed Psaltery Inlaid Rosette 1/4" width banding - This rosette band has a dark purple body with an orange spiral ribbon over top. The spiral is outlined in white, while the body is bordered by black-white-black lines. Because of the somewhat exotic colors used, I like to use this binding for vibrant-colored psalteries. 

Shown at left is the 1/4" width rosette inlaid in a western red cedar top with padauk binding.

 

Additional Rosette Options

Verawood Bowed Psaltery Rosette Solid wood banding - I can make a rosette from any of the available woods on the custom order page, including veneers. I cut the wood in a strip and add a border of black and white purfling on the edges of the wood to contrast between the soundboard and rosette. Please specify wood type on special order form.

To the left is a rosette constructed from Verawood, inlaid in a Curly Redwood top.

Bowed Psaltery Inlaid Rosette Paua Shell Paua/MOP - Shell strips about 1" long by 1/4" wide are pieced together and framed with a border of black and white purfling around the edges. The strip is then cut and assembled into my standard 5-sided rosette and inlaid into the soundboard.

Paua is a blue-green, with swirled and streaked figuring. It flashes in the light when viewed at different angles. Paua is pictured at left.

MOP is another alternative, and is a pearly white. It has a flash similar to paua but is all white.

Circular - A solid piece of wood, (or wood veneer), is cut into a ring shape, and inlaid as the rosette. Just about any available wood listed on this website can be used.

Can be used standalone, or as a way of embellishing and bordering a laser-cut rose.

To the left is a circular rosette made of Purpleheart on a custom psaltery with a non-standard rose.

Bowed Psaltery Tiered Rosette Tiered - Layers of contrasting veneer are cut out by hand and stacked and built up to form tiers. The end result is a rose that is completely three-dimensional and uses nearly the entire depth of the instrument.

Whenever this rose is included on a psaltery, the standard 5-sided elongated rosette around the soundhole's rim will instead be substituted with a hexagonal rosette to accommodate the required shape of the soundhole. (Or a circular rosette can be used, as pictured to the left.)

 

Laser-Cut Roses

Bowed Psaltery Laser-Cut Roses

As you can see from above, there are a total of nine different in-stock roses to choose from. Basically, there are three different designs, available in three different woods. 

From top to bottom, the wood choices are: Walnut, Maple, and Padauk.

From left to right, the styles are: 8-Lobe, Thin Knot, and Wide Knot.

These roses are inlaid flush with the soundboard, and are then the only ornamentation on the soundhole. You may wish to also add a circular wood rosette around the outside of the laser-cut rose for an added decorative border.

The overall diameter of these roses are 2 3/16" - which is a larger surface area than a regular soundhole opening to account for the area of wood inside the hole which is blocked by the rose's pattern. Hence, the overall surface area of the rose's soundhole should end up about the same as a standard soundhole, with little to no effect on volume or tone.

Jump to a section:

 

Bowed Psaltery Tops

Tops

 

Bowed Psaltery Backs

Backs and Sides

 

Bowed Psaltery Binding and Bridge

Binding and Bridge

 

Bowed Psaltery Roses and Rosettes

Roses and Rosettes

 

Bowed Psaltery Note Markers

Note Markers

 

Bowed Psaltery Miscellaneous Options

Miscellaneous Options

 

Copyright 2007 Eric Meier