In December of 2010, I went on a fieldtrip to Oxford, to the Ashmolean Museum, to pick an item from the collection on which to write an object biography. Essentially, I’d pick a historical artefact and write up how it got from its creator to the museum, and all the steps in between. Ultimately, I chose the Alfred Jewel, but during my search, I stumbled across a Stradivari guitar.

The Alfred JewelCENTRE: The Hill Guitar (so sorry for the quality. It hurts my feelings, too.)Stradivari

Antonio Stradivari was a luthier (stringed instrument maker) from the late 1600s-early 1700s. He was born in 1644, in Cremona, in the Duchy of Milan (before Italy was unified) to an old Cremonese family. He might have apprenticed for another famous luthier, Nicola Amati, though records of his life are sparse and hotly disputed. At the beginning of his career, he was making small violins, similar to others available at the time. His signature style developed slowly over time, with innovation and experimentation, and his reputation grew. The golden period was characterised by a larger body and larger patterns, and a darker, orangish varnish. He died on December 18, 1737, at the age of 93, having made instruments for 75 years. He was buried in the Church of San Domenico, in Cremona.

Stradivari Guitars

During his career, he created over 1,100 instruments, almost a thousand of which were violins. Of those, about half remain. He also made a few guitars, and reports vary as to how many of those are still around. I hear there are five or six, and I know of two, for sure: the Hill Guitar, which I have seen, and Sabionari.

Sabionari

Sabionari was likely crafted in 1679, and it is the only remaining guitar that is still playable. It is identifiable by its thorny curls on the bridge and the beautiful rosette and sound hole.

Johanne’s guitar

Lady Johanne Greenstalk is known, in part, for her beautiful guitar. She can play pianoforte, like any lady, but her true love is her guitar, which she often accompanies with her own voice. It has a flat back, like Sabionari, and not a bowl back like a lute, and was made my the finest luthier in the Capital, as a gift from her uncle, George.