DHV:
1403
Tourin ID:
Size:
Bass
Place Made:
Maker:
S
Stockholm
Petter
Hellstedt
Date:
1765
Label Text:
No 849 / P. Hellstedt / fecit Holmiae / 1765 [handwritten]
Body Shape:
Viol
Current Location:
GB
No. of Strings:
6
Collection:
Private Collection
Sound Holes:
C
Catalog Number:
Head:
Scroll
Private Owner:
Yes
Previous Owner:
Mangnusson Music, Göteborg, Sweden; Gösta Fröberg, Vanersborg, Sweden, until his death in the 1990s
Measurements:
Body Length:
69.4
String Length:
70.2
Rib Depth:
12.6
Upper Width:
32.1
Middle Width:
23.3
Bottom Width:
39.1
Information
Source:
Topham 2009; M. Caudle to TGM, 8/03 & 3/19
Literature:
Topham 2009
Photographs:
Topham 2009 (F+B, head F+S, C-holes and bouts, bass upper rib, label [after restoration], underside of table, 3 details of inside of back [before]; [unpublished, from owner before restoration: F+B body only (color)]
Recordings:
Auctions:
Comments:
When acquired by Caudle had been converted to a cello; soundholes had no upper eyes, but widened toward top end; single purfling on table; 2-piece back with no purfling and slight curvature (not a fold) toward top; thick, dark over-varnish and evidence of many unskillful repairs. Dendrochronology of 2-piece table “very closely cross-matched many fronts made by English makers in different periods,” e.g. Walmsley 1740. Restored by John Topham c. 2005/6, starting with complete disassembly to permit repair of many cracks, removal of wood filler, lining ribs and replacing small missing pieces, restoration of table arching, new soundpost patch and bass bar. Also new are top, bottom, and corner blocks plus wooden linings; neck, pegbox, pegs, scroll (based on two other Hellstedt viols); fingerboard, tailpiece (with tailgut), and bridge. Table completely stripped and revarnished (no original remained), with retouching elsewhere. Rib depth includes table and back thickness.