The Irish harp (_clarseth_) illustrated in Fig. 50, belonged formerly to a celebrated Irish harper. A similar one, which is in the possession of the Marquess of Kildare, bears the date 1671. [Illustration: FIG. 47. HARP THEORBO. Made by Harley. English. About 1800. L. 36 in. No. 250-’82. Victoria and Albert Museum.] [Illustration: FIG. 48.――HARP VENTURA. So-called from the inventor, Signor Ventura. English. Early 19th century. L. 33 in. No. 248-’82. Victoria and Albert Museum] [Illustration: FIG. 49.――BANDURIA. English. Early 19th century. L. 22¼ in. No. 227-’82. Victoria and Albert Museum.] [Illustration: FIG. 50.――HARP. Old Irish. H. 52 in., W. 43 in. No. 616-’72. Victoria and Albert Museum.] Considering the scarcity of the old Irish _clarseth_, mention may be made of a fine specimen formerly in the collection of Irish antiquities belonging to Thomas Crofton Croker, from which it was purchased, in the year 1854, at an auction in London, by Thomas Bateman, Esq. It bears on its front the inscription, _Made by John Kelly for the Rev. Charles Bunworth Baltdaniel, 1734_. At the contentions or meetings of the bards of Ireland, between the years 1730 and 1750, which were generally held at Bruree, county Limerick, the Rev. Charles Bunworth was five times chosen umpire, or president. Although this harp is not of high antiquity, it is an interesting example of the ancient form and construction, and likewise of the ancient manner of ornamenting the instrument. A wood engraving of it, from a drawing by Maclise, is given in “A Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities and Miscellaneous Objects preserved in the Museum of Thomas Bateman, at Lomberdale House, Derbyshire,” Bakewell, 1855. An account of the Irish harps deposited in the Museum of Dublin is to be found in “A Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,” by W. R. Wilde, Dublin, 1863. The illustrations of the Irish harp in the works of Bunting and similar writers may be supposed to be known to musicians. The number of strings appears to have been greater on the older specimens recorded than on the later ones. Prætorius, in his “Syntagma musicum,” etc., vol. ii., Wolfenbüttel, 1619, gives an illustration of the Irish harp, in which it is represented with forty-three strings. He describes the instrument as having a pleasant resonance, and being constructed with a considerable degree of ingenuity. The illustration exhibits the same shape, with the fore-bar bent outwards, which is shown in the present specimen. Some harps after the model of the old Irish _clarseth_, which are painted and gilt, were made in Dublin in the beginning of the last century.