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Violin by Nicolo Amati, Cremona, 1628
Note: Click on any major structural area of the instrument to see a close-up of that area.NMM 3356. Violin by Nicolo Amati, Cremona, 1628. Ex colls.: C. J. Read, Salisbury, England; Rev. James Moore; W. H. Symes; R. E. Brandt; E. A. Willmott; Richard Bennett; George Kemp; William MacNeil Rodewald, Jr., Paris and Palm Beach, Florida. Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984. This violin bears an authentic label from the shop of Antonio and Girolamo Amati, run at that time by Nicolo's father, Girolamo. Nicolo assisted his father in the shop and, from about 1615-1620 onwards, Nicolo's was the dominant hand in the instruments bearing the label of the Brothers Amati. This violin, made when Nicolo was about thirty-two years old, is a very well-preserved, grand pattern instrument of the long-cornered design, emulating the work of Nicolo's grandfather, Andrea Amati. Just a few years after he completed the NMM's violin, Nicolo Amati (1596-1684) found himself in the position of being the pre-eminent violin maker in Italy. This was due not only to the fact that he was a highly talented luthier, but also by virtue of the fact that he miraculously survived the plague that decimated northern Italy in 1629-1630. Subsequent census records document the fact that Nicolo Amati regularly had several non-family members living in his home, including some presumably taken in as orphans of the plague. Others were apprentices in Nicolo's shop, young men representing what was to become the next generation of Cremonese luthiers, including such notables as Andrea Guarneri (ca. 1626-1698) and Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737). Soundholes Note: Click on image above to see a larger image of the soundholes.According to the South Kensington exhibition catalog of 1904, this violin is described as being "a unique example of large size and in a perfect state of preservation." It was previously exhibited in London in 1872. Pegbox and Scroll Views
 Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.
 Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.Click here to access an index of all available digital images of this instrument.High-Quality Image (Actual Size) of this Violin Available from Luthier's Library of Violin and Viola Photographs
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