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Violin Sicilien?

late 19th century

Not on view

This instrument is a reproduction of an unusual instrument in the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels. It was presented to Mary Elizabeth Brown by M. Victor Charles Mahillon of the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels.

Technical description: Four stringed violin with body made from three pieces of bamboo cane glued together, each with an f-hole. Two small perpendicular pieces of cane function as a handrest on the neck and a chin rest at the bottom of the instrument. Open ends of the cane pieces are plugged with quarter-sawn softwood. A loops is set into the top of the pegbox. The unword fingerboard is a dark hardwood with cane wedge. The tailpiece is ebony attached to the body by a gut string running through oak plugs set into the central piece of cane. The pegs are stained hardwood with ivory buttons. The pegbox has hardwood on the outside edges.

Violin Sicilien?, Bamboo, gut strings, European — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Violin Sicilien?

Date: late 19th century

Culture: European

Medium: Bamboo, gut strings

Dimensions: Total Length: 24 inches
Width: 2 3/4 inches

Classification: Chordophone

Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889

Accession Number: 89.4.3354

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Musical Instruments at The Met

The Museum's collection of musical instruments includes approximately 5,000 examples from six continents and the Pacific Islands, dating from about 300 B.C. to the present.