The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Bass Viola da Gamba

Bass Viola da Gamba

Date:: 1692
Geography:: London, England, United Kingdom
Medium:: Wood
Dimensions:: Body L. (front) 63.7 cm (24-11/16 in.); String L. 67 cm (26-3/8 in.); Upper bouts 28.9 cm (11-3/8 in.); Middle bouts 21.5 cm (8-7/16 in.); Lower bouts 34.8 cm (13-11/16 in.); D. at middle center bouts 11.8-9 cm (4-11/16-4-3/4 in.); Stop 34.3 cm (13-1/2 in.); Neck setting (too high and crooked) 7.3 cm (2-7/8 in.)
Classification:: Chordophone-Lute
Credit Line:: Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 1990
Accession Number:: 1990.223

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 684

Description

This instrument, previously converted to a 'cello, was reconverted to a gamba by the English maker George Saint George in 1899 when he fitted it with a new neck and fingerboard. The instrument was received further repairs in 1956 by Dietrich M. Kessler.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: 1) (labelled) Barak Norman, at the Bass Viol in St. Paul's Ally, London Fecit 1692; 2) (repair labels) Restored by G. Saint George May, 1899. new neck, fingerboard, etc.; and 3) Dietrich M. Kessler/of Zurich/London/restored Jan. 1956
References

"Recent Acquisitions: A Selection 1990-1991." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1991), pg. 52, ill.
See also
Who
Barak Norman (1)
What
Musical instruments (5,241)

Chordophones (1,444)

Lutes (698)

Bass (64)

Violas (41)
Where
Europe (148,586)

United Kingdom (25,557)

England (9,102)

London (2,006)
When
A.D. 1600-1800 (66,179)
In the Museum
Musical Instruments (5,221)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Musical Terms for the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

Violin Makers: Nicolò Amati (1596–1684) and Antonio Stradivari (ca. 1644–1737)

Great Britain and Ireland, 1600–1800 A.D.