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Scan 53
The History Of The Violin, 1864
4 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1One of the instruments (Fig. 10) is held on or between the knees of the performer, and, though of smaller size, is not unlike the viol da gamba in shape. It has four strings, and four semi-circular sound-holes, but no appearance of a bridge or finger-board. The absence, however, of some of the details of an instrument, either in sculpture or painting, must not be taken as a proof in all cases that the parts omitted did not exist; they might have been omitted by the artist either from want of knowledge of the instrument, or because he thought such details unnecessary. It might also be possible, in some cases, that a layer of hard wood was applied, as in the present guitars, to avoid the indentations that would take place in soft wood from constant use.
3In the porch of Notre Dame de Chartres of the twelfth century, is a representation of a curious instrument of this class (see Fig. 11, from Potier's "Monumens Français," vol. i.). It is not unlike a cumbrous violoncello in shape, but the apparent heaviness may be the effect of the sculpture. The bridge in particular is thick, and deeply grooved for the strings, which are three in number and very large. The tail-piece is much ornamented, and there are four sound-holes, two of quatrefoil shape, and two much like the modern ones, but with both ends turned the same way. There is another instrument of this class of the same date, mentioned by M. de Coussemaker, from a marble statue in the Museum at Cologne. The body is rather longer than usual, it has three strings, and two wide sound-holes. This, with the examples 9 and 10, are of the class considered by M. de Cousse-
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