Italian Brass-mounted Tenor Viola Case, 18th Century

Description:

Italian Brass-mounted Tenor Viola Case, 18th Century, leather-bound and tack-decorated, the plaque engraved ANTONIUS ET HIERONIMUS/AMATI FRATRES FECERUNT/CREMONENSES AN DOM/MDCXX., approximate length of back 450 mm, ht. 5, wd. 32, dp. 11 7/8 in.

Provenance: The collection of Dr. Glenn P. Wood; Leonard Lefkovitch.

N.B. "Formerly the property of Leonard Lefkovitch, who passed away in 2010. He was born in London, England, and lived near there until the family moved to Canada in 1967. He purchased the case in England, c. 1945, and it was donated to the author's collection by his daughter, Una Elliot, in 2012. As recorded on the brass plaque, the instrument it contained was made by the Brothers Amati in 1620, and the cavity for the body of the instrument it contained is 17.75 in. long.

This size corresponds exactly to the Brothers Amati 1620 viola in the collection of the Royal Academy of Music in London. It seems likely that the case is not contemporary to the viola."
G.P.W.
Estimate $3,000-5,000


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