Bass Viol
1639 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The bass viol is a six-stringed instrument, often crowned with a carved female head, fitted with frets along its neck and tuned like a lute.
During the 17th century, this instrument supplied accompaniment in musical ensembles, but from about 1750 it was increasingly replaced by the 'cello, which was louder. This example was subsequently altered so that it could be played like a 'cello. By the 1780s, the bass viol had become the preserve of musical eccentrics like Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–87) or amateurs like the painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88).
This one is signed by Paul Hiltz of Nuremberg, whose surviving instruments date from 1639 to 1656. Its body has a serpentine outline, a characteristic of viols made in Austria and Southern Germany during the 17th century.
During the 17th century, this instrument supplied accompaniment in musical ensembles, but from about 1750 it was increasingly replaced by the 'cello, which was louder. This example was subsequently altered so that it could be played like a 'cello. By the 1780s, the bass viol had become the preserve of musical eccentrics like Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–87) or amateurs like the painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88).
This one is signed by Paul Hiltz of Nuremberg, whose surviving instruments date from 1639 to 1656. Its body has a serpentine outline, a characteristic of viols made in Austria and Southern Germany during the 17th century.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Ebony and ivory marquetry, planed sycamore and pine. |
| Brief description | Bass viol, Festooned body, ebony and ivory marquetry, planed sycamore and pine made by Paul Hiltz, 1639, Nuremberg |
| Physical description | 'Festooned body. Back of two pieces of sycamore. Belly of two pieces of pine, with purfled ornament and soundholes of a serpentine shape (once wavy altered to f form); also a rose with an eagle, finely carved, partly gilt. Tailpiece and fingerboard decorated with a marquetry pattern in ebony and ivory. The instrument has been renecked at some date with the neck of the violoncello type.The pegbox, with a carved head of a woman with hair tied in a bow in the eighteenth century manner, was originally a viol pegbox for six strings, tghe wholse for two of them now being plugged.' - Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments. (London, 1998), p. 5 - 6. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Paolo Hi .../ ...fecit/ ... anno 1639. (This inscription is written on a label inside the body of the instrument.)
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This object was purchased for £16 from Signor Ferraris in June 1871. At some time in its history the neck was replaced with that of a 'cello and two of the six peg holes in the peg box were stopped, so that it could be played like a 'cello. The case for this cello was put forward for consideration by a Board of Survey in 1939 (Registered Papers 39/446 on VA Policy Files 200-1) for de-accessioning on the grounds that it was 'Unsuitable for exhibition'. It was de-accessioned and disposed of. |
| Summary | The bass viol is a six-stringed instrument, often crowned with a carved female head, fitted with frets along its neck and tuned like a lute. During the 17th century, this instrument supplied accompaniment in musical ensembles, but from about 1750 it was increasingly replaced by the 'cello, which was louder. This example was subsequently altered so that it could be played like a 'cello. By the 1780s, the bass viol had become the preserve of musical eccentrics like Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–87) or amateurs like the painter Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88). This one is signed by Paul Hiltz of Nuremberg, whose surviving instruments date from 1639 to 1656. Its body has a serpentine outline, a characteristic of viols made in Austria and Southern Germany during the 17th century. |
| Bibliographic reference | Anthony Baines: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard insturments. (London, 1998), p. 5 - 6. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 398-1871 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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