OXFAS · WA1939.27
Treble viol
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Description
This viol has a ball-like scroll with flat sides, short neck, thick fingerboard, and cornerless ‘figure of eight' or guitar-shaped body. No other treble viols of this shape are known to survive, and no other viol by this maker. Unusually for a viol, the front is carved from a single piece of wood. It is in remarkably unrestored condition for an instrument of its age and rarity. The pegs are modern, but the scroll, neck, fingerboard, and pegbox are all original; only the tailpiece is a more recent replacement.