This illustration of a viola by Jacobus Horil was published in The Strad, December 1978. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs:
Jacobus Horil was a Viennese maker who worked from 1720 to around 1758. Like a number of makers working in Vienna he was probably of Czech origin. About 1740 he moved to Rome.
The principal measurements of the illustrated viola are:
Length of Body, 15 5/16 inches
Upper Bout 7 5/8 inches
Middle Bout 5 3/8 inches
Lower Bout 9 3/8 inches
Ribs 1 7/16 inches
String length 14 9/16 inches
Horil was a very successful varnisher. On the viola illustrated it is a beautiful golden-orange brown.
No comments yet