The instrument is decorated in the characteristic Flemish manner. The outside of the case and lid are painted in panels of subdued colors, the central one imitations a red marble. The inside of the lid is covered with light green block-printed paper surrounded by similarly-printed strips with a black and white arabesque pattern. The main section of the lid bears the Latin motto: “1640 MUSICA COMES LAETITIAE MEDICINA DOLORUM” (Music is the comrade of joy and medicine for sorrows); the motto on the inside of the front flap reads: “CONCORDIA MUSIS AMICA” (Harmony is friend to the muses). The soundboard is painted in a rustic style with birds and flowers, and features a cast metal rose surrounded by a painted wreath supported by angels.

The keyboard was extended around the turn of the 18th century from its original range of C/E to c’’’ by the addition of six notes yielding a fully chromatic present compass of C to d’’’. Such updating of older instruments was known as ‘ravalement’ and is indicative of the preference by later musicians for older Flemish instruments. This parallels the modern predilection for Italian violin-family instruments from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The case walls of these Northern school instruments are thicker than those found in the inner cases of the Italian harpsichords and spinets. Also noteworthy is the difference in timbre – the longer string scale of the northern instruments produces a more sustained sound with less initial “attack.”

This instrument is an excellently preserved example of the Flemish school of harpsichord-making at its height in the middle of the 17th century, and visually is very close to how it would have appeared originally. Andreas Ruckers the Elder was a prolific maker, with journeymen and apprentices working for him – nearly 40 authentic instruments from his workshop are known to survive.