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Antonio Stradivari is credited with the final development and refinement of the violin family, creating instruments that are viewed today as the standard of perfection. Although little is known of his life, we know from notes on his labels that he was born in 1644 and apprenticed to Nicolo Amati, the pre-eminent violin maker of Cremona, Italy. Stradivari was 57 years old when he built the Servais cello, using particularly beautiful wood he reserved for such large instruments. The varnish is unusually rich, a reddish-orange color with golden transparency. The overall purity, and especially the sound of this cello, are remarkable. For its importance in the development of the modern bowed string family, the Servais stands alone.
Adrien-François Servais (1807-1866) was a celebrated Belgian cellist famous for his powerful tone and acrobatic technique, combined with increased use of vibrato, which was at that time an innovation in performance. He was also one of the first cellists to use the modern end-pin. In addition to his frequent performance tours, he was on the Brussels Conservatory faculty during a period when Brussels was an influential musical center. This is the cello he used in his career, building an enormous public reputation.
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Object ID: 1981.0289.01
Division: Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment
Subject(s): Music & Musical Instruments
It is a great shame that this beautiful 'cello is treated like an animal exhibit in a zoo. It should be out all the time being played and listed to by audiences across the world. Instrumentws are meant to be played not looked at. In fact it's not good for them just to sit idle. No doubt you occasionally have concerts where your collection is presented and played, but this hardly represents the purpose for which they were originally crafted. It is a great shame...
—Christopher Nicholls, Australia
Curator Response:Your observation has been the subject of much debate in the worldwide museum community for many years, not only regarding musical instruments, but all functional objects such as clocks, watches, automobiles, etc. You can find reference to articles, seminars, discussions, papers on the use of musical instruments at the web site of the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Musical Instruments (CIMCIM), a committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). There are many audiences to be served by museum collections. Contemporary makers and connoisseurs, as well as musicians and listeners, benefit from public access to information revealed by objects that are carefully preserved. It would be ideal if functional objects could be thoroughly documented at the outset, so any changes (and especially loss) of original characteristics could be preserved. But we live in an imperfect world, and many private custodians of musical instruments do not have the resources, nor inclination, to capture and disseminate knowledge of these features. To that end you are correct. We not only use the Stradivari "Servais" cello in live performances here at the museum, it has been enjoyed by many throughout the world through nine recordings. In addition we have Computed Tomography (CT) scans that accurately document every physical aspect of the instrument, and shared knowledge of the cello through three major publications, as well as the web site. Before it came to the Smithsonian in 1981, this instrument was never seen nor heard in public, kept in private hands, since the death of Adrien-Francois Servais in 1867.
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