/internal/media/dispatcher/783594/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailAlto viola da gamba (?)late 19th centuryLength 68.8 cm, width 22 cm (Length 27 1/16 in., width 8 11/16 in.)Maple, spruce, ebonyLeslie Lindsey Mason Collection17.17130Long, shallow model, influenced by violin type. Flat back of maple, in two pieces. Ribs of maple, apparently cut down. Belly of pine with raised edges and purfling; scimitar-shaped sound-holes; rosette with the three feathers of the Prince of Wales under the finger-board. Back fitted flush with ribs, belly with overhanging edges as in the violin. Neck and peg-box of pearwood, the head bent back and ending in a square similar to that of English guitars. Finger-board of ebony. Tail-piece of ebony, with slanting top; attached in violin fashion is an end-pin. Five gut strings pass over the violin type bridge (original one lost). Five box-wood pegs. Inside construction: corner blocks as in a violin; two cross-bars and a wide cross- strip glued to the back; deep bass-bar; sound-post. Grayish-brown varnish.Musical instruments3.50000000005024601