Thomas Urquhart

The Urquhart family originated in Inverness, Scotland, but Thomas was working in London in the first half of the seventeenth century, a very sophisticated and historically interesting craftsman. His technique has strong echoes of early Flemish and Dutch work, particularly his method of fixing the ribs into a channel cut in the edge of the back. This may indicate the influence of Jacob Rayman, the earliest recorded maker in London (active 1596-1660), who came from Füssen to England via the low countries.  Urquhart’s work is in fact more delicate and developed than surviving examples attributed to Rayman, and is distinguished by the neat scroll pricked out with small points around the volute, a feature shared with other early English makers.