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Tenor Viol thumbnail 2
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Tenor Viol

1667 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Henry Jaye of Southwark (active from about 1610 until 1667) was perhaps the finest maker of viols in England in his day. His working life roughly coincided with the golden age of the viol in England. Viols, which came in a number of different sizes ranging from treble to bass, were held between the legs, hence the term viola da gamba, and played with a bow that was held with the palm of the hand turned outwards. This limited the pressure brought to bear on the string and created a softer sound than that made by the violin. By about 1780 viols were almost entirely replaced by violins and cellos. At some unknown date, the base of this tenor viol was hollowed out at the back, so that it could be played from the shoulder, like a violin.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Tenor Viol
  • Bridge Piece
  • Viol
Materials and techniques
Double-purfled (bordered) pine soundboard and sycamore back with bent piece of mahogany at the bottom; carved pegbox and openwork rosette.
Brief description
English 1667, Henry Jaye
Physical description
A tenor viol of the smaller size. Pine belly, double purfled and purfled round the soundholes. A carved oval rose is inset into the upper part of the belly. Back of sycamore with the grain running lengthways and decorated with inlaid stringing with squared knot-pattern. The sides have been cut down in their lower parts and the corresponding part of the back is formed of a bent mahogany panel as if a later hand had altered the instrument for playing on the shoulder. Sycamore neck, slightly carved at the root, and with a well-carved pegbox with an open scroll. Tailpiece attached to the hook-bar. Six pegs.
Dimensions
  • Length: 78cm
  • Body length: 44cm
  • Depth: 10cm
  • Width: 26cm
Marks and inscriptions
Henry Jaye in/ Southwark/ 1667 (Label; English; Capitals; written; ink)
Object history
Bought for £5 from Carl Engel (RF 2315/1882: museum nos. 150 to 350-1882 purchased for £555 6s. 0.
Restored and cleaned by Mr Dee, Conservation dept., Feb. 1964.
Restrung by W. Hill and Co. April 1964.
Measured drawings by John Pringle, 1979 (Crown Copyright), with notes in the FWK dept. file.
Notes from Keith Coates thesis in dept. file (the original in Royal College of Art), 1979
Summary
Henry Jaye of Southwark (active from about 1610 until 1667) was perhaps the finest maker of viols in England in his day. His working life roughly coincided with the golden age of the viol in England. Viols, which came in a number of different sizes ranging from treble to bass, were held between the legs, hence the term viola da gamba, and played with a bow that was held with the palm of the hand turned outwards. This limited the pressure brought to bear on the string and created a softer sound than that made by the violin. By about 1780 viols were almost entirely replaced by violins and cellos. At some unknown date, the base of this tenor viol was hollowed out at the back, so that it could be played from the shoulder, like a violin.
Bibliographic references
  • London, Victoria & Albert Museum: Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Part II, Anthony Baines: Non-keyboard instruments (London, 1998), p. 3.
  • PATEY, Carole and Moira Hulse: Musical Instruments at the Victoria and Albert Museum. (London, HMSO, 1978), p.8-9
Collection
Accession number
173-1882

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Record createdFebruary 16, 2004
Record URL
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