Viola d'amore

Viola d'amore with festoon outline and with sloping upper back, conveted to viola. Front of fine to medium grain; highly arched with flame-shaped soundholes; purfling on front only; opaque brown varnish with areas of craquelure. Ribs and one-piece flat back, with fold, of narrow curl. There are two bars across the back and a soundpost plate. Conventional viola neck except that the back of the pegbox is pierced with a simple entwined fret; the ?original finial, a winged cupid head without blindfold, was grafted onto the viola pegbox. Six plugged holes around tailpin for the hitchpins for sympathetic strings.