1590 Brothers Amati Violin

Key Information

Maker:	Antonio and Hieronymus Amati
Origin:	Cremona, Italy
Made:	1590
Current Player:	Ilya Isakovich
Sound Notes:	Resonant and warm with bell-like clarity
Owner:	ACO Instrument Fund
Date Acquired:	2018

ABOUT THE INSTRUMENT

In December 2018, the ACO Instrument Fund acquired its fourth instrument, a 1590 Brothers Amati violin – a sibling instrument to the Fund’s third acquisition, a 1616 Brothers Amati cello. The two instruments share a stunning tone of incredible warmth and clarity, and a much-needed capacity for amplitude.

The violin is in a remarkable state of preservation for its age, with all parts still original. Its back, scroll and ribs are made of maple, and the table from spruce. A significant trace of the light orange varnish originally laid by its makers can still be found on the instrument.

Known owners of the 1590 Brothers Amati violin include the English noblewoman and amateur violinist Lady Margaret Cecil and Hendrik Willem van Loon, the once celebrated author of ‘The Story of Mankind’.

ABOUT THE MAKER

The famous Amati family chronologically precede, and are considered as important as, the Guarneri and Stradivari families in the Cremonese 'Golden Age' of instrument making. The ‘brothers Amati’, as Antonio and Hieronymus are commonly known, were renowned for their innovative design. They developed the trade passed on to them by their father, Andrea Amati, and in turn their legacy was further established by Hieronymus’ son, Niccolo Amati.