‘Grinling Gibbons Cherub’ 7/7 Viola d’amore
Inspired by the masterful carvings of Grinling Gibbons inside St. Pauls Cathedral, London.
This 7/7 Viola d’amore has a string length of 37cm and a body length of 39.5cm.
The back and sides are made from Cherry, with the back displaying applied boxwood ornamentation, inspired by the carvings of Grinling Gibbons. The back includes a second ‘break’ which reduces the rib height down at the bottom end to make holding easier, whilst retaining depth in the middle.
The Soundboard is made from Spruce with a carved and gilded Rosette, copied from similar ornaments made from stone which decorate the ceiling inside St. Pauls cathedral.
The head, carved from maple, is after the cherubs which decorate the choir stall inside the cathedral.
The tailpiece and fingerboard are baroque style; ebony veneer over a softwood core.
Bone nuts direct the sympathetic strings around the peg box towards the tuning pegs which are turned from ebony.
This instrument is finished with a thin coat of Linseed Oil & Pine Resin Varnish, adding a golden colour whilst protecting the wood.
This Viola d’amore has a historical setup with gut strings. The sympathetics are made in my workshop from brass and iron wires.
Photos by Gareth Hacker, London.
All decoration is taken from work by Grinling Gibbons, the Anglo-dutch 17thCentury woodcarver. Grinling Gibbons started his career in Deptford, South East London, just a stones throw from where my workshop was situated when building this Viola d’amore. Grinling was working on the estate of John Evelyn, who in his diary, makes one of the first written references to the Viola d’amore.
