Ioannis Ruckers

Ionnes, or Hans Ruckers (fl.1550—1598/1625) was a renowned Flemish maker of harpsichords and organs from Mechelen, father of influential harpsichord-makers Hans Ruckers II (1578—1642) and Andreas Ruckers (1579—164?). Hans had nine more children, and his daughter Catharina married into the Couchet family, also instrument-makers. In 1579, Hans Ruckers became a member of Antwerp's Guild of St Luke (for artists and craftsman), granted full citizenship in 1594. He lived near the studio of Peter Paul Rubens in Jodenstraat. Most of surviving instruments are virginals, dated circa the 1580s and 1590s. Ruckers also worked on the organs at Vrouwekathedraal Antwerpen and St. Jacobskerk, Antwerpen. The 1612 harpsichord in the Royal Collection Trust, belonging to the British royal family, carries the IONNES RUCKERS ME FECTI / ANTWERPIAE 1612 inscription. Some experts, however, assume this could've been his son's build, Hans Ruckers II, as he would commonly use "IR" to sign his works.