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Violin

Violin

  • Place of origin:

    Mittenwald (probably, made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1850 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Carved and planed pine and sycamore, with inlaid marquetry of various coloured woods

  • Museum number:

    10-1871

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

This minature violin was most likely a tourist souvenir, thought to have been made in about 1850 in Mittenwald, a town in Bavaria, famous for producing violins, zithers and other stringed instruments. Its finial is decorated with the carved head of an old man and the back is decorated at the bottom with a townscape made up of marquetry of different coloured woods, a speciality of Bavaria, especially Augsburg, from the 1560s onwards.

Physical description

"Pine belly and sycamore back, with black inlaid purfling. The back is inlaid with a loned panel containing a townscape in marquetry with coloured woods. Pegbox with a finial in the form of an old bald-headed man. Sycamore fingerboard with inlaid stringing following the outline." - Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments, London, 1998, p. 18.

Place of Origin

Mittenwald (probably, made)

Date

ca. 1850 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Carved and planed pine and sycamore, with inlaid marquetry of various coloured woods

Dimensions

Length: 31 cm total, Length: 15.5 cm belly, Depth: 2.5 cm, Width: 7.5 cm upper bout, Width: 8.8 cm lower bout

Object history note

This object was purchased for £2 - 5 - 0 from a Mr Baldwyn of Worcester in January 1871.

Descriptive line

Violin, the back inlaid with a townscape in marquetry with coloured woods, probably made in Mittenwald, ca. 1850

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments, London, 1998, p. 18.

Production Note

Attribution place as suggested by Anthony Baines.

Materials

Sycamore; Pine; Wood

Techniques

Inlay; Carving; Planing

Subjects depicted

Townscape

Categories

Musical instruments

Collection

Furniture and Woodwork Collection

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