Stradivarius Violoncello: the "Servais": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violoncello was made Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, in 1701. It is known as the “Servais” violoncello. It is made of a two-piece table of spruce with even medium fine grain broadening toward the flanks, two-piece back of maple with beautiful medium descending figure (with wings originally added to the upper and lower bouts), ribs of similar maple, modern maple neck terminating in the original pegbox and scroll of even medium figure, and golden reddish-orange varnish. There is an original printed label inside the instrument:

Antonio Stradivari is credited with the final development and refinement of the violin family, creating instruments that are viewed today as the standard of perfection. Although little is known of his life, we know from notes on his labels that he was born in 1644 and apprenticed to Nicolo Amati, the pre-eminent violin maker of Cremona, Italy. Stradivari was 57 years old when he built the Servais cello, using particularly beautiful wood he reserved for such large instruments. The varnish is unusually rich, a reddish-orange color with golden transparency. The overall purity, and especially the sound of this cello, are remarkable. For its importance in the development of the modern bowed string family, the Servais stands alone.

Adrien-François Servais (1807-1866) was a celebrated Belgian cellist famous for his powerful tone and acrobatic technique, combined with increased use of vibrato, which was at that time an innovation in performance. He was also one of the first cellists to use the modern end-pin. In addition to his frequent performance tours, he was on the Brussels Conservatory faculty during a period when Brussels was an influential musical center. This is the cello he used in his career, building an enormous public reputation.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1701
• user: Servais, Adrien-François
• maker: Stradivari, Antonio
• Object Name: cello
• Object Type: violoncellos
• Physical Description: spruce (table material)
• Physical Description: maple (back material)
• Measurements: overall: 50 in x 18 1/4 in x 10 7/16 in; 127 cm x 46.355 cm x 26.51125 cm
• Place Made: Italy: Lombardy, Cremona
• ID Number: 1981.0289.01
• catalog number: 1981.0289.01
• accession number: 1981.0289
• Credit Line: Gift of Charlotte V. Bergen
• 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.