Seven String Bass Viol, 1720
Nicolas Bertrand (French, 1686–1735)
Wood
Technical Glossary
Nicolas Bertrand (French, 1686–1735)
Wood
L. 27 7/8 in. (70.8 cm)
Labeled: Nicolas Bertrand / a Paris 1720.
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.1343)
This instrument retains its original neck, although it was reshaped when converted to a cello, probably in the late eighteenth or nineteenth century. The French viol player Jean de Sainte-Colombe (fl. 1658–87, died by 1701) is credited with adding the seventh string to the bass viol. Nicolas Bertrand, one of the most celebrated makers of viols, incorporated this feature in his bass viols.
