The arched back is formed of 37 ribs, the neck and pegbox--holding 4 bass strings and 20 fretted strings--are veneered with ebony. The fragile spruce top has been removed and is displayed to show repairs and alterations in the original ribbing; a modern replacement top maintains the form of the body. A label within identifies the maker as Vendelino Venere (Wendelin Tieffenbrucker), active in Padua in the late 16th century; another label records alterations by Josephus Edlinger, Prague, 1729. It is likely that neither label is authentic.
