Bow & Bridge

Sellas, Matteo

As printed

  1. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of “Alla Corona.” In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: “Matteo Sellas, alla corona in Venetia, 1639.” A theorbo was dated 1639.

    scan page 90, line 4See the scan

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    scan page 90, line 4

    1. also made new ones, using the label: "Schwartz à Strasbourg, 18—."
    2. Schweizer, Johann Baptist. A maker in Budapest; b. 1798; d. 1875. He was a pupil of Geisenhof in Vienna. His violins were made without arching, the workmanship was neatly finished; he also made some tenors.
    3. Segher, Girolamo, b. 1646. Was a pupil of Nicola Amati, and was working under him, 1680-82.
    4. Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of "Alla Corona." In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: "Matteo Sellas, alla corona in Venetia, 1639." A theorbo was dated 1639.
    5. Seni, Francesco. A maker in Florence in 1634.
    6. Senta, Fabrizio. A maker in Turin. An instrument of his is mentioned in the catalogue made by B. Cristofori (Sept. 23, 1716) of the instruments belonging to the Duke of Florence.
    7. Serasati, Domenico A maker in Naples about 1710-50. His instruments had a good reputation at one time.

  2. A dictionary of violin makers (n.d.)

    Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of “Alla Corona.” In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: “Matteo Sellas alla corona in Venetia, 1639.” A theorbo was dated 1639

    scan page 92, line 4; scan page 92, line 7See the scans: 92, 92source record

    Read the transcript line

    This is what the software read off the scan, not the page itself. The cited line is marked, and three lines either side are shown for context.

    scan page 92, line 4

    1. also made new ones, using the label: "Schwartz à Strasbourg, 18—."
    2. Schweizer, Johann Baptist. A maker in Budapest; b 1798, d. 1875. He was a pupil of Geisenhof in Vienna. His violins were made without arching, the workmanship was neatly finished; he also made some tenors
    3. Segher Girolamo, b. 1646. Was a pupil of Nicola Amati, and was working under him, 1680-82.
    4. Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of "Alla Corona." In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: "Matteo Sellas alla corona in Venetia, 1639." A theorbo was dated 1639
    5. Seni, Francesco A maker in Florence in 1634.
    6. Senta, Fabrizio. A maker in Turin
    7. An instrument of his is mentioned in the catalogue made by B Cristofori (Sept 23, 1716) of the instruments belonging to the Duke of Florence.

  3. An encyclopedia of the violin (1925)

    SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639.

    scan page 65, line 6; scan page 67, line 4See the scans: 65, 67source record

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    scan page 65, line 6

    1. SCHWARTZ, GEORG FRIEDRICH, Strassburg, b. 1785, d. 1849.
    2. SCHWARTZ, THEOPHIL WILHELM I, Strassburg, b. 1797, d. 1861.
    3. SCHWEITZER, JOHANN BAPTIST, Budapest, b. Vienna, about 1790.
    4. SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639.
    5. SENI, FRANCESCO, Florence, 1634.
    6. SENTA, FELICIO (or FABRIZIO), Turin, beginning of 18th century.
    7. SERAPHINO, SANTO, Udine, Venice, 1678 to 1737. According to his own statement, Seraphino was a pupil of Nicolas Amati. In 1710 he was in Venice and became indisputably one of the best Venetian violin makers. In painstaking care as to detail, his work is only surpassed by that of Stradivarius. His varnish is red or yellowish brown, and only wood of the finest quality used. The tone is wonderfully clear and even, and it is not surprising that his violins bring a high price. A beautiful instrument of his is with Theodore Hammerle of Vienna. The label used by Seraphino is reproduced on Plate 8.
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  1. An encyclopedia of the violin (n.d.)

    SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639.

    scan page 69, line 6See the scan

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    scan page 69, line 6

    1. SCHWARTZ, GEORG FRIEDRICH, Strassburg, b. 1785, d. 1849.
    2. SCHWARTZ, THEOPHIL WILHELM I, Strassburg, b. 1797, d. 1861.
    3. SCHWEITZER, JOHANN BAPTIST, Budapest, b. Vienna, about 1790.
    4. SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639.
    5. SENI, FRANCESCO, Florence, 1634.
    6. SENTA, FELICIO (or FABRIZIO), Turin, beginning of 18th century.
    7. SERAPHINO, SANTO, Udine, Venice, 1678 to 1737. According to his own statement, Seraphino was a pupil of Nicolas Amati. In 1710 he was in Venice and became indisputably one of the best Venetian violin makers. In painstaking care as to detail, his work is only surpassed by that of Stradivarius. His varnish is red or yellowish brown, and only wood of the finest quality used. The tone is wonderfully clear and even, and it is not surprising that his violins bring a high price. A beautiful instrument of his is with Theodore Hammerle of Vienna. The label used by Seraphino is reproduced on Plate 8.

Named in 4 books printed between 1896 and 1925. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 4 books stand under this name, and the software judged them likely the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record.

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Details and sources

Record note

Printed in A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1896); An encyclopedia of the violin (1925); An encyclopedia of the violin (1925); An Encyclopedia of the Violin (1926), and nowhere else on this site: that is the entire basis of this maker’s record. Entries from 4 books stand under this name, and the software judged them likely the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record. No claim beyond the printed naming is invented here — not established is the accurate word for it, and we want to hear from you if that can change.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of “Alla Corona.” In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: “Matteo Sellas alla corona in Venetia, 1639.” A theorbo was dated 1639 reported1
Places and dates of work
Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of “Alla Corona.” In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: “Matteo Sellas alla corona in Venetia, 1639.” A theorbo was dated 1639 reported1
Places and dates of work
Sellas, Matteo. Was working in Venice 1630-40 at the sign of “Alla Corona.” In the Paris Conservatoire Collection are two of his arch-lutes; and at Bologna, in the Liceo Comunale di Musica, is a large guitar with the label: “Matteo Sellas, alla corona in Venetia, 1639.” A theorbo was dated 1639. reported1
Places and dates of work
SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639. reported1
Places and dates of work
SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639. reported1
Places and dates of work
SELLAS, MATTEO, Venice, 1600 to 1639. reported1

How the pages were read

6 of the 6 lines here were read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words), not by a person looking at the page image. 2 of them rest on a section heading above a list of names, not on a trade word printed on their own line: “A DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS.”, “VIOLIN MAKERS IN EUROPE”.

Notes

  1. Read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words, or a typed transcription), not by a person looking at the page image. ↩

The books behind this record

This record draws on 4 sources. Each is listed below with how it was read, because a claim read from a photo of the page is stronger than one read from machine text.

  1. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London: Novello, n.d.). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 92, line 7

  2. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London: Novello, n.d.). archive.org, dictionaryofviol1899stai. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol1899stai.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 92, line 4

  3. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London ; New York: Novello, Ewer, 1896). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai_0. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai_0.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 90, line 4

  4. Alberto Bachmann, An encyclopedia of the violin (1925). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000albe_h3k7. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000albe_h3k7.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 65, line 6

  5. Bachmann, Alberto and Ysaye, Eugene, An encyclopedia of the violin (New York, Da Capo Press, n.d.). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000bach_r6r5. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000bach_r6r5.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 69, line 6

  6. Alberto Bachmann, An Encyclopedia of the Violin (1925). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000albe_u1d5. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000albe_u1d5.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 67, line 4