Nicolò Amati
Violin maker
(1596 – 1684)
Nicolò Amati was the fourth and greatest in a line of influential Cremonese violin makers. His grandfather, Andrea Amati, is known as the inventor of the modern violin, and his father, Girolamo, refined the models Nicolò began to execute to great success around 1620, under his father's Brothers Amati label. The plague killed Nicolò's father in 1630, as well as his main rival, Giovanni Paolo Maggini, leaving Nicolò one of the only active violin makers in the Cremonese tradition and unable to meet the growing demand for instruments. As a result, he trained a series of apprentices who would later comprise a great generation of violin makers, including Andrea Guarneri and Giacomo Gennaro. While there is no clear documentation of their having worked in Nicolò's shop, Francesco Rugeri, Antonio Stradivari, Giovanni Battista Rogeri and Jacob Stainer all clearly studied and emulated elements of his style and methods, which further established him as one of the most important figures in the tradition of violin making.
Though nearly all of his instruments show unsurpassed attention to precision and detail, Nicolò is famous for developing the so-called Grand Pattern, which is slightly larger than the models used by Andrea and Girolamo Amati. Its larger size (about 35.6 cm in length and up to 20.9 cm in width) adds increased projection to the elegance and fine craftsmanship of this great maker's work.
Price History
- The auction record for this maker is $654,588 in May 2013, for a violin.
- 103 auction price results.
View all auction prices for Nicolò Amati
Amati family tree
Instruments
Violin -
1628
Cremona
Violin -
1628
Cremona
Violin -
1630
Cremona
Violin -
1630
Cremona
Violin -
1635
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1640
Cremona
Violin -
1641
Cremona
the 'Hambourg'
Violin -
1642
Cremona
Violin -
1643
Cremona
Violin -
1645
Cremona
Violin -
1645
Cremona
Violin -
1645
Cremona
Violin -
1647
Cremona
Violin -
1647
Cremona
Violin -
1647
Cremona
the 'Ole Bull'
Violin -
1647
Cremona
the 'Francais'
Violin -
1647
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1648
Cremona
the 'Georgie Stoll'
Violin -
1648
Cremona
the 'Partello'
Violin -
1648
Cremona
Violin -
1649
Cremona
the 'Alard'
Violin -
c. 1650
Cremona
Violin -
1650
Cremona
Violin -
1650
Cremona
Violin -
1651
Cremona
Violin -
1651
Cremona
Violin -
1651
Cremona
Violin -
1653
Cremona
Violin -
1653
Cremona
Violin -
1654
Cremona
Violin -
1654
Cremona
the 'Brookings'
Violin -
1654
Cremona
Violin -
1655
Cremona
Violin -
1655
Cremona
the 'Krasner, Voute'
Violin -
1656
Cremona
the 'King Louis XIV, Youssoupov, Panajeff, Medici'
Violin -
1656
Cremona
Violin -
1657
Cremona
the 'Paganini'
Violin -
1657
Cremona
the 'Kaiser'
Violin -
1657
Cremona
Violin -
1658
Cremona
the 'Hämmerle'
Violin -
1659
Cremona
Violin -
1659
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1660
Cremona
Violin -
1660
Cremona
Violin -
1662
Cremona
Violin -
1662
Cremona
Violin -
1662
Cremona
the 'Kempner'
Violin -
1662
Cremona
Violin -
1662
Cremona
Violin -
1662
Cremona
Violin -
1663
Cremona
the 'Count Pergen'
Violin -
1664
Cremona
Violin -
1664
Cremona
the 'Gillott, Woolworth'
Violin -
1665
Cremona
Violin -
1665
Cremona
Violin -
1666
Cremona
the 'Antoinette'
Violin -
1666
Cremona
Violin -
1666
Cremona
Violin -
1666
Cremona
the 'Baron Knoop'
Violin -
1667
Cremona
Violin -
1667
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1669
Cremona
the 'Réthi'
Violin -
1670
Cremona
Violin -
1670
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1670-80
Cremona
Violin -
1671
Cremona
Violin -
1671
Cremona
Violin -
1671
Cremona
the 'Corcoran'
Violin -
1672
Cremona
the 'Professor Florian Zajic'
Violin -
1673
Cremona
Violin -
1675
Cremona
Violin -
1675
Cremona
Violin -
1676
Cremona
Violin -
1676
Cremona
Violin -
1676
Cremona
Violin -
1679
Cremona
Violin -
1680
Cremona
Violin -
1680
Cremona
Violin -
1680
Cremona
Violin -
1680
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1680
Cremona
Violin -
1682
Cremona
the 'Spagnoletti'
Violin -
1682
Cremona
the 'Voigt'
Violin -
1682
Cremona
Violin -
1683
Cremona
the 'Spagnoletti'
Violin -
1683
Cremona
Violin -
1683
Cremona
Violin -
1683
Cremona
Violin -
c. 1684
Cremona
Violin -
1684
Cremona
Violin -
No Date
Cremona
Violin -
No Date
Cremona
Violin -
No Date
Cremona
Viola -
1663
Cremona
the 'Professor Wirth'
Viola -
1677
Cremona
the 'Berkitz'
Viola -
No Date
Cremona
Cello -
c. 1630
Cremona
the 'Vatican Stradivari'
Cello -
1641
Cremona
Cello -
1642
Cremona
the 'Willeke'
Cello -
1645
Cremona
Cello -
1650
Cremona
Cello -
1662
Cremona
Cello -
1667
Cremona
Cello -
1677
Cremona
the 'Herbert'
