Images(2)

Hardingfele

Date1966

Place MadeHoston Orkdal, Norway, Europe

Serial No.none

SignedHandwritten label (ink) which must be viewed from treble f-hole in order to be read:
Olav Lomũndal / Hostan Orkdal / 1966
Markingsa tag on lower end rib with price 1200.-
DescriptionA hardanger violin, with four melody strings and four sympathetic strings.
It has a two-piece back and a carved human head (with silver crown and gold hair).
The fingerboard, tailpiece, and rim of the violin are highly ornamented with inlaid
mother-of-pearl. The belly, sides and back are also highly decorated with inked
ornaments.
The wooden tuning pegs are flat and have ivory sides, which have ornamental designs painted on. The ends of the pegs are numbered in pencil. Dr. Margaret Banks notes that the wooden pegs have bone “veneer” nailed onto the wood, then decorated with ink.
The tailpiece is made of pine (?) painted black with inlaid decoration. The strings are attached to the tailpiece by means of hooks, as is the tailpiece to the the end button.
There is a bass bar but no “bassbar-type” thickening on inside of back.
There are corner blocks, a violin-style endblock, and linings.
The fingerboard and tailpiece decorations match and are done in the traditional decorative style.
The bridge has the letters “K” and “B” written on both sides near the point of contact with the strings.
DimensionsLength of body: 14 5/16” (36.2 cm)thickness: 5.5 cm
Upper bout: 6 13/16” (17.2 cm)vibrating string length: 30 cm
Lower bout: 8 5/16”length of fingerboard without nut: 22.6 cm
Center bout: 11.3 cmlength of tailpiece: 13.2 cm
Overall length: 62.5 cmrib height: 3.1 cm
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), pictured on p. 53 (2 detail shots).

Reidar Sevåg, “The Harding Fiddle,” From Bone Pipe and Cattle Horn to Fiddle and Psaltry Copenhagen: Musikhistorisk Museum, 1972), pp. 18-24 (ML462.C77 M82)

Credit LineGift of Arne B. Larson, 1988

Object number04342

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