Treble viol, with yew and sycamore body, French or Italian, about 1740 - 1760.

"Belly of two pieces of pine, arched and pierced by two sound-holes in the usual C-shape. Back and sides are of alternating strips of sycamore and yew, the back is flat and slopes in toward the shoulders. The belly and back are both double-purfled in a light wood. The peg-box is drilled with five pegs, and is carved on the back with a scroll of foliage. The fiinial is carved in the form of a woman's head, garlanded with flowers." Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 8.

Extract from a lecture by V&A conservator Reg Dee “Restoration of musical instruments 1964 – 68” at the UKIC/ V&A Christmas Symposium on Early Musical Instruments, 15th December 1983:
"Another problem experienced when piecing together damaged instruments was where decorative wood strips had curled out of shape. For example, the Pardessus de Viole (163-1882), c. 1740, decorated with sycamore and a fruit wood (? (...) had disintegrated due to storage in damp conditions and the strips making up the rib decoration had curled and twisted out of shape. The joints on the ribs were thin and jagged. A mould was made to help re-align the ribs, then in three pieces, and once put together, they were strengthened internal y with linen tape prior to being re-attached to the belly and back of the instrument. Restoration was completed by revarnishing the surface. This was necessary because the damp had penetrated beneath the original varnished surface, causing unsightly discolouration."

This instrument was part of the collections of Carl Engel (1818-1882) and was bought by this museum for £5.

The instrument bears the label of Antonio Gragnani, a violin maker from Livorno (active 1740 - 1791). However, Anthony Baines wrote: "Similar to the work of Guersan, this may be a French pardessus with an Italian label or an Italian instrument intended for the French market" (cf. Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments. (London, 1998), p. 8)

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. This example could be either French or Italian and is smiilar to the work of Louis Guersan (1713-1781) of Paris. However, it bears the label of Antonio Gragnani of Livorno (active 1740-1790) which may not be original to the instrument.

163-1882