National Music Museum Logo   National Music Museum  
Home  Collections
Virtual Tour
Calendar Gift Shop FAQ Site Index Maker Index

 

Images from The Rawlins Gallery

Viola by Andrea Amati, Cremona, ca. 1560

Note: Click on any major structural area of the instrument to see a close-up of that area.

NMM 3370. Viola by Andrea Amati, Cremona, ca. 1560. Ex colls.: C. B. Lutyens, Amwell Grove, England; Hope Hambourg; E. R. Voigt, London. Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984.

This rare viola is one of the best preserved of Andrea Amati's decorated instruments. It features gilt paintings of fleurs-de-lis and trefoils on its back, surrounding the monogram identified by Italian scholar Renato Meucci to be that of Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême. The Latin motto painted in gilt around the monogram, as well as around the ribs, is identical to that found on the Museum's Amati violin made at about the same time and may relate to the court of King Philip II of Spain. The loss of some of the mottoes' text, as well as other decorative elements painted on the back, clearly reveals that this instrument was reduced in both length and width from its original, large tenor dimensions.


Soundholes


soundholes

Note: Click on image above to see a larger image of the soundholes.

This viola was one of seven instruments by Andrea Amati, including the Museum's King violoncello and violin, featured in an exhibition mounted for the Ente Triennale Internazionale degli Strumenti ad Arco at the Palazzo Comunale di Cremona, October 9-18, 1982.   See: Andrea Mosconi and Laurence C. Witten, Capolavori di Andrea Amati (Cremona: Ente Triennale Internazionale degli Strumenti ad Arco, 1984), pp. 47-52 and 68.


Pegbox and Scroll Views


Front view of pegbox Back view of pegbox

Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.

Bass side view of pegbox Treble side view of pegbox

Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.

The scroll's volute was cut off and grafted onto a new pegbox and neck at some point, when the instrument was modernized.


Painting on Back of Viola


Painted back

Note: Click on any painted area of the back to see a close-up of that area.

The gilt painting around the edges of the back of this viola features fleurs-de-lis and trefoils. Italian scholar Renato Meucci has proposed that the monogram on the back of the viola refers to Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême. Other scholars propose that the motto painted around the monogram, as well as on the ribs (below), relates this instrument to the court of King Philip II of Spain.


Motto Text on Bass Side of Viola


Bass side view

Note: Click on pegbox or the text painted on the bass ribs to see close-ups of those areas.

The letters on the bass side spell the words [Q]VO VNICO PROPVGNACVLO ("By means of this bulwark (or fortification or battlement) . . . " [text continues on treble ribs below]).

Motto Text on Treble Side of Viola


Treble side view

Note: Click on pegbox or the text painted on the treble ribs to see close-ups of those areas.

The letters on the treble side spell the words [S]TAT STABITQ[VE] RELIG[I]O, continuing the Latin motto that began on the bass ribs (see above), ". . . religion stands and will stand." This same Latin motto is found on the back of the viola, as well as on the Museum's Andrea Amati violin, and on another Andrea Amati violin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Click here to access an index of all available digital images of this instrument.

High-Quality Image (Actual Size) of this Viola Available from Luthier's Library of Violin and Viola Photographs


  Click arrow to continue Rawlins Gallery Tour

Go to Rawlins Gallery Tour Index

Go to Virtual Tour Index

Consult the Luthier's Library for detailed measurements and photos


Related Links

Individual Instruments

NMM 3351. Violoncello, The King, by Andrea Amati, Cremona, after 1538

NMM 3366. Violin by Andrea Amati, Cremona, ca. 1560

NMM 5260. Violin by Andrea Amati, Cremona, 1574

Comparative Views

Comparison of the Front and Back Views of Four Andrea Amati instruments

Comparison of the Treble and Bass Sides of Four Andrea Amati instruments

Comparison of the Soundholes of Four Andrea Amati instruments

Comparison of the Pegbox/Scroll Views of Four Andrea Amati instruments


Checklists

Checklist of Bowed Stringed Instruments by Andrea Amati, Cremona

Checklist of Bowed Stringed Instruments Made Before 1800

Checklist of 16th- and 17th-Century Instruments

National Music Museum
The University of South Dakota
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069

©National Music Museum, 2005-2014
Most recent update: March 8, 2014

The University of South Dakota
Return to Top of Page

 
Pegbox front Upper bouts Soundholes Lower bouts Upper bass corner Lower bass corner Lower treble corner Upper treble corner Pegbox, treble side Treble side Pegbox, bass side Bass side Pegbox, back Upper bouts Upper treble corner Upper bass corner Lower treble corner Center painting Center Painting Center painting Lower bouts Upper treble bout decoration Upper treble corner Upper bass bout decoration Upper bass corner Lower treble corner Lower bass corner Lower treble bout decoration Lower bass bout decoration Back center painting Upper bass rib Center bass rib Lower bass rib Bottom bass rib Treble bottom rib Pegbox, treble side Lower treble rib Center treble rib