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Matthew Hardie was one of Scotland's finest violin makers, born in Edinburgh in 1755, died in 1826.
Violin
Matthew Hardie
Edinburgh
Europe
Scotland
United Kingdom

Instrument Information

Title

Violin

Accession Number

3015

Collection

MIMEd

Date Information

Date Made

1805

Period

19th century; 1800s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Wolfson Gallery

Case

Lutes case 8

Maker Information

Maker Name

Matthew Hardie

Maker Biography

Matthew Hardie was a Scottish violin maker born in 1755 and worked in Edinburgh. His work has been linked to various eminent English violin makers of the eighteenth century but it is most likely he learned his craft locally. It is believed he received much of his work through the Edinburgh Musical Society who built St Cecilia’s Hall. He showed great promise as a violin maker but the demise of the society and eventual closure in 1798 is mirrored in his decline into poverty. His son worked with him for a period and he had several apprentices who became skilled violin makers. He died in 1826.

Made In

City

Edinburgh

Country

Scotland

Description

Technical Description

This violin has a soundboard of spruce; ribs, back, neck and scroll of sycamore; fingerboard, tailpiece, soundboard protector of ebony; pegs of rosewood; endbutton of boxwood with inlaid ebony and mother-of-pearl. The soundboard grain is bookmatched, of variable ring growth spacing, and affected by tree damage on the bass upper bout and just above the treble f-hole. The soundboard has purfling of ebony/sycamore/ebony and there are plugged holes at the top and bottom of the soundboard. There is some slight marking and ingrained dirt where the chin has rested on the soundboard. The ribs and back are of medium figured sycamore, and the lower bout rib is a single piece. The back is of two pieces, the figure going up towards the neck in the centre and down at the edges, with ebony/sycamore/ebony purfling. Extra pieces were added to the lower bouts to provide enough width. The scroll has been grafted onto the neck, but it appears that the scroll and neck are from the same piece of wood.

Measurements: The neck is 131mm long; fingerboard 266mm long, 23.3mm wide at the nut and 41.4mm wide at the bottom. Soundboard arch 16mm; back arch 14mm.

Labelled "MATTHEW HARDIE / Edinburgh 1805", the 05 being handwritten, the remainder printed.

Repair History: Some repaired damage, a number of cracks have been fixed, pieces have been added to replace damaged edges at the lower bouts, and an added piece to repair damage to the lower hole of the treble f-hole.

Performance characteristics: An instrument by one of the very finest of Scottish makers, though perhaps not one of his best in terms of tonal response.

Current ownership: Gift of Sir Gerald Elliot, 1989.

Provenance

Gift of Sir Gerald Elliot, 1989.

Classification

Instrument

Violin/Violins/Strings/Musical Instrument ; Violin

Instrument Family

Strings

Hornbostel Sachs Classification

314.122-71 ; musical instrument