Viola
Maker
Chanot & Lete
Date1819 ca.
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
ModelChanot
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionGuitar-shaped body without corners or overhanging edges.
Top: one-piece, quarter-cut spruce: medium; prominent bear-claw figure
Back: one-piece, quarter-cut maple: prominent, narrow curl ascending from treble to bass; ebony cap over entire button
Ribs: two-piece, quarter-cut maple: prominent, narrow curl, angled to left; top and back do not overhang ribs
Head and neck: maple: faint, narrow curl; reversed scroll, reeded, with deep, wide groove at center; back of pegbox flat; neck varnished
Arching: full at center of top and back
Edging: edges not scooped; edges capped with rounded ebony, continuing under back button; stained maple shim between back button cap and edge cap; edge caps finished with same varnish as body
Purfling: ebony and bone
Varnish: golden-brown with slight craquelure; similar to NMM 5972
Fingerboard: ebony; slight channel over neck position; separate piece from nut to 7 mm below nut
Nut: ebony
String holder: guitar-style ebony with carved saddle, wider at upper end; finished with same varnish as body; strings held by three ebony pins and one black-stained maple pin
Pegs: one ebony with small ivory eye, showing marks of peg turner; one ebony with small mother-of-pearl eye, showing marks of peg turner; one ebony with eye missing; one ebony with larger collar rings than other pegs; all with convex heads
Saddle: ebony; rounded front and upper edges; set into top and edge cap; finished with same varnish as body
Endpin: ebony; small; no neck or collar
F-holes: curved, slot-shaped, slightly wider at lower ends; edges lined in ebony and bone, the inside edge painted black
Linings: spruce; wide
Bassbar: long, narrow; extends over and through ebony string holder, which is cut away between G and C pins to accommodate bassbar on inside of top
Other: file marks visible on nut
DimensionsTotal viola length: 622 mm
Back length: 394 mm
Upper bout width: 185 mm
Center bout width: 121 mm
Lower bout width: 231 mm
Upper rib height: 36-37 mm
Center rib height: 36-37 mm
Lower rib height: 36 mm
Stop length: range of bridge positions visible on top: 196-250 mm
Vibrating string length: 345-403 mm
Neck length (bottom of nut to ribs): 145 mm
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson. Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848. With essay by John Koster. Exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003. Vermillion: National Music Museum 2003. Page 36.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 2003
Object number10395
On View
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