Antonio & Girolamo Amati

Violin maker
(c. 1577 – 1620)

Antonio and Girolamo (or Hieronymous) Amati, also known as Brothers Amati, inherited the workshop of their father Andrea in the late 1570s. The two brothers produced instruments together, developing and strengthening their father's models, which were then copied widely in Italy and in the Netherlands and England. Their large output shows an experimental approach and the many different sizes of violins, ...Read More violas and cellos they created suggests that they were working with musicians to perfect the tone quality of their instruments.

Following a discordant split in 1588, Girolamo continued to make instruments bearing the Brothers Amati label, while Antonio produced his own instruments, of which few remain. Girolamo's son Nicolo took on a central role in the shop after about 1620, and many of the instruments dated from around 1625 are assumed to be his work. The exact date of Antonio's death is not known, but is believed to be around 1610, and Girolamo died of the plague in 1630, leaving Nicolò as one of the primary and most influential proponents of violin making in Italy. Read Less

Price History

- The auction record for this maker is $775,500 in May 2000, for a viola.
- 80 auction price results.

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Amati family tree

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