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Images from The Rawlins
Gallery
Violino Piccolo by Girolamo Amati, Cremona, 1613
 
Note: Click on any major structural area of the instrument to see a close-up of that area.
NMM 3361. Violino
piccolo by Girolamo Amati, Cremona,
1613.
One of only three Cremonese instruments known to have survived in original
condition (the other two are the NMM's Andrea Guarneri tenor viola, 1664, and the Medici tenor viola by Stradivari, 1690, at the Museo del Conservatorio "L. Cherubini," in Florence). It retains its original scroll, neck, fingerboard, saddle, button, and tailpiece. The nut and pegs are not original to the instrument, but are contemporary with the time during which the instrument was built (Hermann/Witten Collection). A minor repair at the junction of the belly and the neck appears to be the only alteration made to this exceptionally well-preserved instrument. The violino piccolo was designed to play the high passages in music at a time when violinists played primarily in the first position. Ex coll.: Andrew Fountaine, London.
Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984.
Soundholes
Note: Click on image above to see a larger image of the soundholes.
The earliest music to call for the violino piccolo is Claudio Monteverdi's opera, Orfeo, written in 1607, six years before this instrument was built. Monteverdi's use of the phrase 'violini piccioli alla francese' has been the focus of some controversy, leading to the formulation of several hypotheses as to the specific instrument intended, but it is likely that an instrument like the NMM's violino piccolo was, in fact, the instrument called for in Monteverdi's opera. The best known music written for the violino piccolo is that composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, including his Cantatas Nos. 96 (Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn) and 140 (Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme), as well as the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 (BWV 1046).
Pegbox and Scroll Views
Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.
Note: Click on images above to see larger images of the pegbox.
Neck Heel Views
Note: Click on images or text above to see larger images of the neck heel area.
This small violin (back length: 266 mm), which bears a Brothers Amati label, retains its original, Baroque set up. An old, minor repair is barely visible at the junction of the neck and the top of the belly.
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A technical drawing of this violin is available from the Gift Shop
A postcard of this violin is available from the Gift Shop
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