Division Viol
Henry Smith
1629
Medium
Maple, spruce
Dimensions
Body Length 65 cm
Classification
Chordophone-Lute-bowed-fretted
Culture
British
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
10.30.2
Rights
Public Domain
About the Artist
Henry Smith · 1623–1637
Henry Smith was a skilled British instrument maker active in London during the early seventeenth century. His documented working period spans from 1623 to around 1637, a remarkably focused career that produced finely crafted viols prized for both their musical function and decorative artistry. Little is known of his early life or formal training, yet his surviving instruments demonstrate mastery o...