Nicolò Amati, Cremona, 1647, the 'Ole Bull'
Violin: 48649
Back: One-piece
Length of back: 35.7 cm
Upper bouts: 16.9 cm
Middle bouts: 11.3 cm
Lower bouts: 20.9 cm
There are 2 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
"The Amati was deposited in the vaults of a Boston bank in 1913 and remained there until 1966 when I removed it, it having come into my possession in 1962."Ole Bull's 1647 Nicholas Amati, Mortimer Smith, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. VI, No. 4, Flushing, NY
"Lot 8, was a violin by the same maker, dated 1647 ; it was stated in the catalogue, "This is justly considered as one of the most beautiful and finest instruments in THE WHOLE WORLD. It was put up at 50 guineas, and bought in at 185.""
The History of the Violin and Other Instruments Played On With the Bow From the Remotest Times to the Present, William Sandys and Simon Andrew Forster, The History of the Violin and Other Instruments Played On With the Bow From the Remotest Times to the Present, London
Provenance
| Sir William Curtis | |
| until 1861 | Oliphant |
| in 1861 | Sold by Puttick & Simpson |
| 1861-1880 | Ole Bull |
| 1880-1911 | Mrs Ole Bull |
| from 1911 | Mrs Olea Bull Vaughan |
| until 1962 | Sylvea Bull |
| from 1962 | Mortimer Smith |
| until 1967 | Rembert Wurlitzer Inc. |
| 1967-1982 | Current owner |
Known players
Ole Bull
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: Jacques Français, New York, NY (1996) #5138.
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References
Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. VI, No. 4, Mortimer Smith, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY (illustrated)- The Emil Herrmann Collection - Part I, Andy Lim & Gregory Singer, Darling Publications, Cologne / New York (illustrated)
- The History of the Violin and Other Instruments Played On With the Bow From the Remotest Times to the Present, William Sandys and Simon Andrew Forster, John Russell Smith, London
- The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (illustrated)