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Viola

The back of this viola is made from one piece of lightly striated maple, rising steeply from the sides and flattening in the centre. The front is similarly arched with distinct hollows along the edges. The button is lop-sided and may have been recut when a new neck was inserted at an angle to the body. The pegbox is original, but the ebony pegs, fingerboard, and ‘duck-bill’ tailpiece are modern

  • Date:
    after 1746
  • Maker:
    Wamsley, Peter II
    Smith, Thomas
  • Collection:
    Ashmolean Museum
  • Inventory number:
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  • Place of production:
    London (Timezone: Europe/London)
  • Culture:
  • Period:
  • Materials:maple
  • Specific materials/techniques:
  • Decorative elements:
  • Inscriptions:inscription/mark: Made by Peter Wamsley / at ye GOLDEN-HARP in Pickadilly / London 1740 (Printed label with anachronistic date)
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:
  • Repository:Ashmolean Museum
  • Measurements:408.5 mm of back length; 190.75 mm upper bout (back) width; 126.25 mm middle bout (back) width; 232.5 mm lower bout (back) width; 383 mm string length