Studies for a wheel-driven bowed string instrument
Tuning pegs, a bridge, and a wheel to be covered in glued bristles
A tall strip carrying four mechanical figures for a stringed instrument sounded not by a hand-held bow but by a turning wheel. Leonardo labels the parts, tuning pegs, a bridge, and a wheel, and instructs that bristles be glued around the wheel's rim, layered head to tail until it is fully covered, so that the wheel bows the strings as it turns. The figures are annotated with verdicts on their design, one bridge marked 'good', another figure 'false'. The drawings show wheeled bodies with rows of strings and pegs across the sheet.
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Wheel bowed by rim covered in glued bristles
The instrument's parts are named: tuning pegs (bischeri), a bridge (ponte), and a wheel. Bristles are to be attached around the cutting edge of the wheel with glue, one laid on the head of the next until the rim is wholly covered, so the turning wheel draws the strings. A further note describes screwing (or fixing) the wheel in place.
Design verdicts: bridge 'good' versus figure 'false'
Leonardo appraises his variants directly on the sheet. The first figure is marked above and below the base (sopra 'l fondo, sotto 'l fondo); the third figure is judged 'false', while the fourth figure's bridge is marked 'good'.