Antonio Stradivari “Golden Bell” 1668 ca.

photo  © Leonhard Rank ART & STRINGS Archive

 

The back is made from two pieces of maple. The ribs and scroll are made of wood similar to the back, the scroll showing a slightly fainter figure.
The top is formed from a single piece of spruce of fine narrow grain on the bass side which also displays a hazel figure in the upper and lower bouts.
The varnish is of a warm golden brown colour laid over a lighter golden ground.
A very fine and characteristic example of the master’s earliest work, currently in a very good state of preservation.