Images from The Pressler Gallery

NMM 4548. Violin by Jacob Stainer, Absam bei Innsbruck, 1668. Ex colls.: Fridolin Hamma, Stuttgart; W. E. Hill & Sons, London; Sam Bloomfield, San Diego. Board of Trustees, in memory of Arne B. & Jeanne F. Larson, 1988.

Click here to hear this violin
Excerpt from Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Rosenkranz-Sonaten 16. Nr. 16, Passacaglia in g-Moll für Violine solo.
From CD Jacob Stainers Instrumente, available from the Museum's Gift Shop

The original neck of the Museum's Stainer violin, typical of those on 17th-century instruments, comes straight up and is not tilted back as are those on violins made today.

Two x-rays of the Museum's Stainer violin (NMM 4548), taken through the violin's back, document the instrument's pristine condition and the original nail used to attach the neck to the body.

Close-up of Stainer violin soundholes

Jacob Stainer, the greatest of the German-speaking violin makers, is considered by many to be the greatest luthier of the 17th century. His instruments were still preferred over those of the Italian masters by Leopold Mozart and his contemporaries because of the beauty of their tone, well into the 18th century.

Three views of the Stainer violin pegbox.

The Museum's Stainer violin, as well as its unique tenor viola built by Stainer about 1650, were loaned to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna for their retrospective exhibition, Jacob Stainer, presented in Ambras Castle, overlooking Innsbruck, June 4-October 31, 2003, just a few miles from where the master craftsman lived and worked for most of his life. Both instruments were x-rayed and photographed in March 2003 for a scholarly catalog written to complement the exhibition. Prior to the exhibition, the violin and viola underwent comparative acoustical and other scientific tests, including dendrochronology, confirming that the wood dates from before the years in which the instruments were built.

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A CD featuring this violin, Jacob Stainers Instrumente, is available from the Museum's Gift Shop

Technical Drawing of Stainer Violin Available from Gift Shop

Consult the Luthier's Library for detailed measurements and photos

High-Quality Image (Actual Size) of this Violin Available from Luthier's Library of Violin and Viola Photographs

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Most recent update: September 24, 2010

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