Viola da gamba

This finely crafted woman’s head once decorated a five-string pardessus de viole. Whole workshops existed in Paris, working totally apart from the violin making ateliers, producing only the heads and peg boxes for all Paris luthiers, which explains why the heads of the Parisian instruments all look alike. But no detriment, if they all look like this beautiful example!

We are now looking for the missing parts of this instrument