Notes:

"However, before beginning my discussion of the work of Bocquay and Pierray, I would like to show you at least one instrument dating from the end of the seventeenth century. This is a viola made by Jean Christophe d'Avignon in 1695, which is now in the museum of the Paris Conservatoire. This instrument reflects the strong influence of the Italian makers of the time as well as that of his French contemporaries. Both the varnish and workmanship show the influence of Andrea Amati and of the Amati family. The varnish is not dark and can be described as a varnish a la Italienne. Notice that the C bouts are short while the F hole is like that of Andrea Amati. In the next slide you can see the Italian influence in the model and the purfling. Even the pine of the top is unlike the kind generally used by French makers. The varnish is a little dry, but in color and texture it is a little like that of Cappa and other makers of the Saluzzo region. The scroll shows characteristics of both the Italian and French schools. This d'Avignon viola is typical of what one finds at the very end of the seventeenth century in France."

French Violin Makers from the Seventeenth Century up to and Including Vuillaume, Étienne Vatelot, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. X, No. 2, Flushing, NY

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Paris, musée de la Musique, inventory no. E. 1398