Potter Folk Fiddle: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This folk fiddle was made by Alvin Potter of Morristown, Tennessee in 1919. The body is without ornamental purfling. The f-holes have been lined in the lower wing area. The instrument is strung with metal strings. The violin was acquired with the folk violin (catalog #66.411), both of which were collected from Morristown, Tennessee and said to be of local origin. This fiddle is made of a one-piece table of pine, one-piece back of slab-cut walnut, ribs, neck, pegbox and scroll of plain hardwood, and is unvarnished.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1919
• maker: Potter, Alvin
• Object Name: fiddle
• Physical Description: pine (table material)
• Physical Description: walnut (back material)
• Measurements: overall: 24 in x 8 in x 3 1/4 in; 60.96 cm x 20.32 cm x 8.255 cm
• Place Made: United States: Tennessee
• ID Number: MI.66.061
• accession number: 261087
• catalog number: 66.061
• 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.