Models

2 models

  • Nicolò Amati "Brookings" Violin

    1654 Nicolò Amati violin (Library of Congress)

    Violin · Italy

    The 'Brookings' is a 1654 violin by the Cremonese master Nicolò Amati, held in the stringed-instrument collection of the Library of Congress. Acquired in Europe on the advice of the virtuoso Joseph Joachim and presented to the Library in 1938, it exemplifies Amati's refined model and golden-amber varnish. Nicolò Amati was the teacher of a generation of makers, and instruments like this one shaped the Cremonese tradition later carried forward by Stradivari.

  • Stradivari "Messiah" Violin

    1716 'golden period' Stradivari violin (Ashmolean Museum)

    Violin · Italy

    The 'Messiah' (Le Messie, also 'Salabue') is a 1716 golden-period violin by Antonio Stradivari, held by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It is famous for being the best-preserved Stradivari in existence: it remained in Stradivari's workshop until his death in 1737, passed to Count Cozio di Salabue in 1775, and was little played thereafter. Its varnish is almost unworn, the carving remains crisp, and the painted edge-work on the scroll survives intact, making it a primary reference for the appearance of a new Stradivari instrument.