Vuillaume Violin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violin was made by Claude-François Vuillaume in Mirecourt, France around 1750. Claude-François (I) Vuillaume (ca. 1700-1792?) was the great-great-grandfather of J. B. Vuillaume, the eminent 19th-century Parisian maker, dealer and expert. This violin retains original features common to Mirecourt output of the period, including the maple neck and top block in one piece. The ribs are inlaid into a channel cut into the back, and are without linings excepting the center bout area of the back. Interior blocks are very small. The fingerboard of plain maple is veneered on the top with ebony and accompanied by a nut of ivory inlaid into the neck. Purfling is represented by two painted lines of ink. This violin is made of a table of spruce in two pieces, back of plain maple in two pieces cut on the quarter, similar plain maple ribs, an original plain maple neck, pegbox and scroll, and a slightly opaque yellow-brown varnish.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1735-1745
• maker: Vuillaume, Claude-Francois
• Object Name: violin
• Physical Description: spruce (table material)
• Physical Description: maple (back material)
• Measurements: overall: 23 3/4 in x 8 1/4 in x 3 5/8 in; 60.325 cm x 20.955 cm x 9.2075 cm
• Place Made: France: Grand Est, Mirecourt
• ID Number: MI.69.01
• catalog number: 69.01
• accession number: 281113
• 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.