Viola d'Amore

Viola d'Amore

Giovanni Grancino

Details

Dimensions
Height: 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm) Width: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Origin
Italian
Department
Musical Instruments
Holding institution
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Purchase, Amati Gifts, 2008

Art Genome Taxonomy

9 tags

Artistic Disciplines

  • Music Both · 99%

    The catalog identifies the work as a viola d’amore in the Department of Musical Instruments, and the image clearly shows a complete bowed string instrument with a resonant body, strings, fingerboard, bridge, tailpiece, and tuning pegs.

Visual Qualities

  • Symmetrical Visual · 97%

    The frontal view presents a largely bilateral body outline, paired f-shaped sound holes, a central fingerboard, and balanced placement of the strings and fittings.

  • Single Object Visual · 99%

    The photograph isolates one complete instrument against a plain, pale background.

Time Periods

  • 18th Century Art Metadata · 100%

    The catalog dates the instrument to 1701, placing it within the eighteenth century.

Geographic Regions

  • Italian Art Metadata · 100%

    The catalog identifies the place of origin as Italian and the maker as Giovanni Grancino of Milan.

Materials

  • Wood Both · 98%

    The catalog lists spruce, maple, and ebony, while the image visibly shows extensive warm brown wooden surfaces in the body, neck, pegbox, and fittings.

  • Metal Metadata · 97%

    Iron is listed among the cataloged materials. Some visible strings and fittings appear metallic, although the photograph alone cannot establish the composition of each small component.

  • Bone Metadata · 96%

    The catalog lists bone among the materials used in the instrument.

Antiquities, Artifacts, and Religious Objects

  • Musical Instrument Both · 99%

    The metadata classifies the object as a viola d’amore and a bowed, fretted chordophone-lute; the image visibly presents the construction of a stringed musical instrument.

Source & rights

Giovanni Grancino. Viola d'Amore. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.