Editing Amati (section)

====The Witten, The IX Charles, The ex Collis ca 1560====

Andrea Amati ca 1560

This rare viola is one of the best preserved of Andrea Amati's decorated instruments. It features gilt paintings of fleurs-de-lis and trefoils on its back, surrounding the monogram identified by Italian scholar Renato Meucci to be that of Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême. The Latin motto painted in gilt around the monogram, as well as around the ribs, is identical to that found on the Museum's Amati violin made at about the same time and may relate to the court of King Philip II of Spain. The loss of some of the mottoes' text, as well as other decorative elements painted on the back, clearly reveals that this instrument was reduced in both length and width from its original, large tenor dimensions.

{| class="wikitable" style="Margin:auto"
|+ Measurements (cm)
! Length of back !! Upper Bout !! Middle Bouts !! Lower Bouts
|-
| 40.6 || 18.5 || 13.1 || 23.9
|}

[https://finestrings.ca/andrea-amati-ix-charles-viola/ Fine Strings]

[http://collections.nmmusd.org/Violas/Amati3370/3370AmatiViola.html National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota]

[https://national-music-museum.myshopify.com/products/nmm-3370-viola-by-andrea-amati-cremona-ca-1560 National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota]

[https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/property/?ID=40043 Tarisio]