This pochette was made by an unknown maker, provenance unknown, late 18th century. It is a composite instrument with a one-piece table of one-piece spruce, body of gourd, maple neck and repaired pegbox, and yellow-brown varnish
This object is composed of unrelated fragments and does not appear to have ever functioned as a musical instrument in this form. The flat table with stylized S-holes is fitted to a body made from a gourd. The neck is terminated in a repaired pegbox with missing head. Acquired from the collection of Leopoldo Franciolini in 1892.
Leopoldo Franciolini (1844–1920) was an Italian antique dealer who flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is remembered as a fraudster who sold faked and altered historical musical instruments.
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