Bass Viol
1677 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Richard Meares (1647–1725) was one of the most important viol makers and music publishers in London in his lifetime. He supplied at least two instruments to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (1647–1744), who employed an orchestra of musicians who doubled up as servants. Meares also published works by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). At the time Meares made this instrument, viols ranging from treble to bass were often played, by both professional and amateur musicians, in an ensemble known as 'a consort of viols'.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Planed ebony fingerboard with ivory stringing; planed and purfled [bordered] maple back; planed and purfled spruce soundboard, inlaid with an unidentified wood; carved maple finial. |
| Brief description | English bass viol, pine belly, sycamore back and sides, ebony fingerboard with ivory stringing, by Richard Meares, 1677. |
| Physical description | Belly of five pieces of spruce, double purfled [bordered]. A formal floral device is inlaid and scored in the centre. The back, apparently original, is made of two pieces of maple decorated with double lines of purfling with a geometric knot-pattern in the centre. The pegbox carved with a woman's head with her hear tied back with a bow, and with scrollwork carved in relief on the back. Tailpiece, attached to the hook-bar, and fingerboard are of ebony with ivory stringing. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Richard Meares, without / Bishopsgate, near Sir / Paul Pinders.[sic] London / Fecit 1677 (Printed label. The last two figures of the date written in ink.)
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| Gallery label | BASS VIOL
By Richard Meares, London, 1677
Label inscribed Richard Meares, without / Bishopsgate, near Sir Paul Pinders.[sic] London/ Fecit 1677
Body of pine
Non-Keyboard Catalogue No.: 1/3
Meares's surviving instruments span forty years; an example in Lisbon dates from 1637. This instrument is one of the best preserved extant bass viols. The ornate tuning box, surmounted with a female head, and the somewhat conservative geometrical patterns on the back are characteristic of instruments of the period. On both the Baker and Meares viols, an inlaid scrolled pattern takes the place of the rosette.
170-1882(pre September 2000) |
| Object history | This object formed part of the collections of Carl Engel and was valued at £6 - 10 - 00, when acquired by the South Kensington Museum in 1882. |
| Historical context | Comparable instruments Bass viol by Richard Meares, c1680; Royal College of Music, London RCM0936 |
| Summary | Richard Meares (1647–1725) was one of the most important viol makers and music publishers in London in his lifetime. He supplied at least two instruments to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (1647–1744), who employed an orchestra of musicians who doubled up as servants. Meares also published works by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). At the time Meares made this instrument, viols ranging from treble to bass were often played, by both professional and amateur musicians, in an ensemble known as 'a consort of viols'. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 170-1882 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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