Hardanger Fiddle: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This hardanger fiddle was made by Anders Heldahl in Bergen, Norway, in 1885. It is made of a two-piece table of cedar, two-piece back of plain birch, ribs of similar birch, birch neck terminated in painted pegbox and closed scroll with two volutes, table, back and pegbox ornamented with ink representation of edge inlay and purfling,and transparent brown varnish. There is an original handwritten label inside the instrument:

This hardanger fiddle has modest ornamentation and a pegbox terminating in a scroll rather than a carved figure. This instrument with four bowed and four sympathetic strings is in an excellent state of preservation, with the original neck, tailpiece, bridge, pegs and interior body features intact. The veneered fingerboard and tailpiece are decorated en suite.

Anders A. Heldahl was born in 1811 in Hosanger and went to Bergen at the age of 15. Trained there as a violin maker, he was among the most productive makers in the western region of Norway, remaining in Bergen until his death in 1897. His hardanger fiddles have modest ornamentation and bear a pegbox terminating in a scroll rather than a carved figure.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1885
• maker: Heldahl, Anders
• maker: Heldahl, Anders
• Object Name: hardanger fiddle
• Physical Description: cedar (overall material)
• Physical Description: birch (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 22 5/8 in x 7 1/2 in x 3 3/8 in; 57.4675 cm x 19.05 cm x 8.5725 cm
• place made: Norway: Hordaland, Bergen
• ID Number: MI.095912
• accession number: 29793
• catalog number: 95912
• Credit Line: Mrs. J. Crosby Brown
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.