Nicolas Bertrand |
1563-1626 |
France |
Lütgendorff in his Comprehensive Dictionary of Violin & Lute Makers does not seem to think much of Bertrand's work, yet he has become a most important maker for anyone interested in the history of the viola da gamba. He worked in Paris at the turn of the 17th to the 18th century and produced a number of viols, which are still in more or less original condition. His work is crude at times, viewed from the point of view of a craftsman, however his instruments are still valued for their sound and projection.
| Basse de Viole 7 strings | 1720 | Musée de la Musique Paris | L = 71,3cm W=34/25,5/41cm eclisses 8,8 to 14,9 cm |
| Printed Label Back : two piece flat with slopping shoulders of narrow curl descending from the joint; brand on the back BERTRAND Ribs : similar curl (érable) Table : almost flat of narrow grain Varnish : red brown colour Head : extended pegbox terminating in a young lady's carved head; finderboar dand tailpiece (cordier) of maple (erable) veneered ebony (ébène) |
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| copy of Laurence Dreyfuss small bass (head) | Peter Hütmannsberger | ||
| Basse de Viole ; Head | 17? | Wileand Kuijken | L = 74cm W=28/25,5/39cm eclisses 7,6 to 13,7 cm |
| Printed label ; one piece back of slab-cut maple ; sloping shoulders ; brand under the heel of the neck ; ribs of quarter-cut maple ; table of very close and even grain ; C-shaped sound holes ; low arching ; double row of purflings ; neck and pegbox cut in the same piece of wood ; fingerboard veneered ebony ; the extended pegbox terminating in a carved head ; original varnish of a red brown colour on the pegbox ; Varnish : the resonant body has been re-varnished in a lighter brown colour. |
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| copie of Wieland Kuijken instrument | Peter Hütmannsberger | ||
| Head | 1701 | ||
