Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727, the 'Cassavetti'
Viola: 40115
Bearing its original label, with Stradivari's stamp applied after the label had been glued to the instrument.
Back: Two-piece, cut on the slab, showing small curl
Top: of pine of fine grain at the center, opening out on the flanks
Varnish: Orange-brown
Length of back: 41.2 cm
Upper bouts: 18.4 cm
Middle bouts: 12.4 cm
Lower bouts: 23.8 cm
There are 10 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
"The Cassavetti [1727] is pretty much all sons, I would say. I didn't touch on on that but this is radically different work on here. This looks almost like the Muntz Strad. . . . I would guess Francesco. It looks different from the work of his father. The f-holes have little spinfly wings and they are not fluted. This is very much like the Gibson viola with the same type of wood and it also looks like it was made with a little help."Guided Tour of the Library of Congress Collection of Stringed Instruments, Robert Bein, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. XVII, No. 2, Flushing, NY
Provenance
| until 1854 | Luigi Tarisio |
| from 1854 | Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume |
| until 1872 | J. N. Durand |
| in 1872 | Sold by Hôtel Drouot |
| from 1872 | Maulaz |
| in 1875 | Gand & Bernardel, Freres |
| Sold by David Laurie | |
| 1875-1885 | Alexander Cassavetti |
| in 1885 | Sold by W. E. Hill & Sons |
| from 1885 | Charles James Oldham |
| Sold by W. E. Hill & Sons | |
| Baron Johann Knoop | |
| until 1898 | W. E. Hill & Sons |
| from 1898 | Robert E. Brandt |
| until 1906 | W. E. Hill & Sons |
| 1906-1928 | Hart & Son |
| 1928-1929 | Rodman Wanamaker |
| 1929-1934 | John Taylor Roberts |
| 1934-1936 | Gertrude Clarke Whittall |
| from 1936 | Library of Congress, Washington |
References
- Antonio Stradivari: His Life & Work (1644-1737), W. Henry, Arthur F. & Alfred E. Hill, William E. Hill & Sons, London, 1902
Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Jost Thöne Verlag, Cologne, 2010 (illustrated)
Cassavetti Stradivari viola, Library of Congress- Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. XVII, No. 2, Robert Bein, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY (illustrated)
- Italian Violin Makers (1964), Karel Jalovec, Paul Hamlyn, London, 1964 (illustrated)
- The Strad, November, 2006, Philip J. Kass, Newsquest Specialist Media, London (illustrated)
- Private Archives - 10842
- The Strad 2001 Calendar, Orpheus Publications, London (illustrated)
- The Stradivari Memorial (1977), William Dana Orcutt, Da Capo Press, New York (illustrated)
- The Stringed Instrument Collection in the Library of Congress, Shinichi Yokoyama, Gakken
- Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)
- Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. V, No. 2, Albert Mell, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY (illustrated)
- We Love Stradivari, NHK (illustrated)
- Lyon & Healy Rare Old Violins, Violas & Violoncellos (1931), Part 1, Lyon & Healy, Chicago (illustrated)