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Hardanger Fiddle thumbnail 2
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This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Hardanger Fiddle

1872 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Hardanger fiddle is a Norwegian variant of the violin, dating from about 1650. It is strung with eight strings, four of which vibrate while a bow plays the others. This instrument was made in 1872 by K.E.Helland, a member of a famous family of fiddle-makers from Telemark, Norway. Hardanger fiddles are decorated in a vernacular style; the finial of this example is a heraldic lion, with a gilt crown, carved in the Norwegian folk tradition.

Hardanger fiddles are used for folk singing, dances and wedding processions. Edvard Grieg (1842-1907), Norway's greatest composer, incorporated the traditional melodies played on such fiddles into his compositions. The leading player of Grieg's day was probably Torgeir Augundson (1801-1872), a miller's son also from Telemark.

Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Hardanger Fiddle
  • Bow (Chordophone Component)
Materials and techniques
Planed, sawn and purled sycamore back and soundboard; ebony and mother-of-pearl inlaid neck and tailpiece and edging
Brief description
Hardanger fiddle, Norwegian, K.E. Helland, 1872
Physical description
Description taken from department files: Hardanger fiddle with a pine belly and maple back with painted floral scrolls in black and edges set with mother-of-pearl alternating with black triangles. Neck set in line with belly. Pegbox with eight pegs, four of which are for wire sympathetic strings. The finial is in the form of a heraldic lion with gilt crown, the carving of the head executed in Norwegian peasant tradition originating in the Viking period. Fingerboard and tailpiece veneered with ebony inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.
Dimensions
  • Total length: 64cm
  • Belly length: 35cm
  • Depth: 4.2cm
  • Maximum width: 20cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum, part I, keyboard instruments by Howard Schott. part II, non-keyboard instruments by Anthony Baines.
Marks and inscriptions
Fabrikirt af Knudt Eriksen Helland 1872 (1) Makers's mark 2) Signature; Norwegian; Cursive; On label inside the body of the violin; 1872)
Translation
Made by Knudt Eriksen Helland, 1872
Gallery label
(pre September 2000)
HARDANGER FIDDLE, Norwegian, by K.E.Helland, 1872. Maple back and pine soundboard. The finial is a heraldic lion, with a gilt crown, carved in the Norwegian folk tradition. The instrument has eight tuning pegs, four of which are for wire sympathetic strings.

Museum No.: 155-1882
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 3/8

The earliest known Hardanger fiddle was made in 1651, with six strings of which only two were sympathetic. By about 1850, these instruments were shaped more like the violin. They accompanied folk dances, songs and wedding processions.
Object history
This formed part of the collection of Carl Engel (1919 - 1882), a leading musicologist who published the Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1874). Engel's collection was bought by the museum in 1882.
Bought from Carl Engel for £3
Summary
The Hardanger fiddle is a Norwegian variant of the violin, dating from about 1650. It is strung with eight strings, four of which vibrate while a bow plays the others. This instrument was made in 1872 by K.E.Helland, a member of a famous family of fiddle-makers from Telemark, Norway. Hardanger fiddles are decorated in a vernacular style; the finial of this example is a heraldic lion, with a gilt crown, carved in the Norwegian folk tradition.

Hardanger fiddles are used for folk singing, dances and wedding processions. Edvard Grieg (1842-1907), Norway's greatest composer, incorporated the traditional melodies played on such fiddles into his compositions. The leading player of Grieg's day was probably Torgeir Augundson (1801-1872), a miller's son also from Telemark.
Bibliographic reference
London, Victoria & Albert Museum: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Part II, Anthony Baines: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), pp.18 - 19.
Collection
Accession number
155&A-1882

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Record createdMay 16, 2001
Record URL
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