Hare Violin Restoration

This violin was made by Edward Pamphilon in collaboration with John Hare whose label it bears. John Hare’s shop was in Mason’s Yard near the Royal Exchange, London.
These makers were active during the reign of Charles II, 1660-1685 and this violin is typical of the revival of violin making in England during the Restoration. It also carries the brand of “T Smith”, a 19th century London music seller. The instrument was built on the back with the ribs being inset into a channel that runs around the perimeter of the back. The violin did not have a neck and scroll when it was acquired. Andrew Dipper made a new neck and scroll, which was inset into the ribs in the traditional manner of English making, the so called “through neck”. Andrew Dipper also copied the pegs, tailpiece and bridge from historic paintings so that the instrument truly represented the state of the art of violin making in London in the last quarter of the 1600’s. The instrument is now the main performance instrument of a very accomplished baroque music professional.
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