Treble Viol
about 1730 (Made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Treble viols were the highest pitched instruments used in an ensemble (or 'consort') of viols. Their sound was similar to that of the violin but they were played between the legs rather than underneath the chin. François Gaviniés (ca.1683-1772) made this instrument in Bordeaux some time before moving to Paris in 1734. Although the peg-box and neck of this instrument are probably later replacements, the fingerboard may be original. Tortoiseshell fingerboards were a characteristic of Gaviniés' surviving viols.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Planed sycamore back and sides; planed and drilled pine belly, tortoiseshell fingerboard with ebony edging; turned ebony pegs. |
| Brief description | French, sycamore back and sides, pine belly and tortoiseshell finger board, François Gaviniés, about 1730. |
| Physical description | 'Belly of a single piece of pine, and back of a single piece of sycamore, both with simulated purfling [bordering] in black paint. The neck is probably a replacement, with crude pegbox and scroll both stippled and gouged in simple decoration. Modern tortoiseshell tailpiece attached to a hook-bar. Tortoiseshell fingerboard with ebony edges. Six ebony pegs and six strings. The bridge is stamped PANPI.' Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 8. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | This instrument was part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882) and was bought by the Museum in 1882 for £5-10- 0 (£5.50) |
| Production | This instrument closely resembles a treble viol made by François Gaviniés in Paris in 1744, now in the collections of the Musée des Instruments in Paris. A fragmentary piece of paper was found under a repair of the V&A's instrument, stating that it was made by Gaviniés in Bordeaux, although the date is missing. (See note on 'Marks/ Subject'.) Gaviniés was married in Bordeaux in 1723 and moved to Paris in 1734. 1730 seems a plausible date. |
| Summary | Treble viols were the highest pitched instruments used in an ensemble (or 'consort') of viols. Their sound was similar to that of the violin but they were played between the legs rather than underneath the chin. François Gaviniés (ca.1683-1772) made this instrument in Bordeaux some time before moving to Paris in 1734. Although the peg-box and neck of this instrument are probably later replacements, the fingerboard may be original. Tortoiseshell fingerboards were a characteristic of Gaviniés' surviving viols. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 8 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 164-1882 |
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| Record created | December 9, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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