Signed: printed on paper label, year in balck ink: “Antonius& Hieronymus Fr. Amati/ Cremoneñ. Andreae fil. F 1613
This small sized (“piccolo”) violin by one of the famed Amati brothers, is about 3/4 of the size of a modern standard violin and was designed for playing by an adult. It also provides a rare glimpse at what the finest Renaisseance instruments looked like when they where made. It may have been made to perform at a higher pitch, as the neck is of the dimensions confortable for and adult hand. The Cremonese composer Claudio Monteverdi called for “violini piccoli alla francese” or small violin un the French style in his Opera l’Orfeo in 1607.
This Amati survived more than 400 years in virtually original condition.
Top: two-piece, spruce
Back: one-piece, maple. Ribs and neck, maple.
Total violin lenght: 476 mm.