Viola by Josephus Antonius Laske

Prague, 1787

Josef Anton Laske, born in Rumburg in 1738, died in Prague in 1805, was a pupil of Jacob Koldiz and Thomas Hulinzky. Laske worked in Dresden, Berlin, Vienna and Brunn, before returning to Prague. In addition to excellent violins, Laske also made pochettes, violas d’amore, harps and mandolins. According to Fetis, in Poland and Bohemia Laske enjoyed the reputation of being even better than the Italians. This viola is a fine example of his work.

Body length	422 mm
Upper width	211 mm
Middle width	142 mm
Lower width	256 mm
Rib height	46 mm
String length	394 mm