Bass Viola da Gamba

Bass Viola da Gamba

Bass Viola da Gamba. Culture: British. Dimensions: Height: 25 1/16 in. (63.7 cm) Width: 13 11/16 in. (34.8 cm) Depth: 4 11/16 in. (11.9 cm). Maker: Attributed to Barak Norman (British, 1651-1724 London). Date: 1692. This instrument is attributed to the English master luthier Barak Norman. Norman's workshop, "The Bass Viol," was one of many workshops of its kind located in the vicinity of Saint Paul's Cathedral, the epicenter of instrument making in seventeenth-century London (and down the street from "The Golden Viol," the shop of Edward Lewis and John Hare). It is very likely that Norman constructed this instrument the year before he began monogramming his work. It is simply decorated, unlike many of his other instruments, or those of his colleague (and likely teacher) Richard Meares, which often feature intricate latticework on the ribs and around the body. As viols began to fall out of fashion in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this Norman, like so many other viols, was converted to a cello, then later reconverted to a viol. Restorations were carried out in 1899 by the noted English maker George Saint George, who fitted a new neck, fingerboard, and tailpiece to the instrument, transferring the original decorative inlaid facing to the new parts. The instrument received further repairs in 1956 by Dietrich M. Kessler.

wood

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Attributed to Barak Norman (British, 1651-1724 London)

Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Model: No - Property: No
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3150 x 4200 px | 37.9 MB

26.7 x 35.6 cm | 10.5 x 14.0 in (300 dpi)