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Treble viol

This viol has a ball-like scroll with flat sides, short neck, thick fingerboard, and cornerless ‘figure of eight’ or guitar-shaped body. No other treble viols of this shape are known to survive, and no other viol by this maker. Unusually for a viol, the front is carved from a single piece of wood. It is in remarkably unrestored condition for an instrument of its age and rarity. The pegs are modern, but the scroll, neck, fingerboard, and pegbox are all original; only the tailpiece is a more recent replacement.

  • Date:
    2nd half of the 16th century
  • Maker:
    Giovanni Maria da Brescia
  • Collection:
    Ashmolean Museum
  • Inventory number:
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  • Place of production:
    Venice (Timezone: Europe/Rome)
  • Culture:
  • Period:second half of 16th century
  • Materials:pine, maple, wood
  • Specific materials/techniques:
  • Decorative elements:
  • Inscriptions:inscription/mark: Juan Maria da Bressa: / fece in Venecia. (Label printed in red)
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:
  • Repository:Ashmolean Museum
  • Measurements:358 mm of belly length; 178 mm upper bout (back) width; 142 mm middle bout (back) width; 213 mm lower bout (back) width; 314 mm string length