Viola
1791
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Body L.: 38.8 cm ( 15-3/8 in.); Body W.: upper bout: 18.5 (7-3/8 in.), center bout: 13.2 cm (5-1/4 in.), lower bout: 22.95 cm ( 9 in.); Rib H.: upper: 3.5 cm (1-3/8 in.), middle and lower - each: 3.5 cm (1--3/8 in.); Vibrating string L.: 35.2 cm (13-7/8 in.)
Classification
Chordophone-Lute-bowed-unfretted
Culture
British
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dorothy and Robert Rosenbaum, 1979
Accession Number
1979.177
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 18th-century British lutherie with *Viola* by Benjamin Banks, crafted in 1791. This exquisite chordophone—a bowed, unfretted lute from the lute family—exemplifies the golden age of English string instrument making. Banks, a master craftsman based in Salisbury, England, renowned for producing high-quality violins, violas, andos that rivaled continental traditions, blending precision engineering with elegant aesthetics. Made entirely of wood, its compact form features a body length of 38.8 cm, with gracefully contoured bouts—upper 18.5 cm, center 13.2 cm, and lower...