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Violins and cellos from Portuguese collections. A tree ring study as a historical source of the Portuguese heritage
Abstract
This first dendrochronological study of 13 violins and cellos from Portuguese workshops of the XVIII and XIX centuries aims at a deeper knowledge of dates and origin of the top woods used to build the instruments, as well as adding to the understanding of specific assembly techniques. A similar study was also made on 10 violins and cellos of foreign manufacture from the XVII and XVIII centuries, which are currently in Portugal, showing the scientific potential as well as limitations of the dendrochronological approach. The best chronological references which were applied to date the musical instruments manufactured in Portugal came from the Alpine regions of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy, but the identification of specific wood sources was not possible. The only known musical instrument in Portugal attributed to Antonio Stradivari (cello Chevillard) belongs to the collection of the National Museum of Music (Lisbon). The growth patterns on two pieces which compose the belly were compared with those of five other instruments made by the same luthier and was allowed to conclude that the wood came from the same region and, in one specific case, from the same tree. The terminum post quem obtained by the dendrochronological dating allowed the confirmation of attribution to a maker for most of the instruments but for two violins the attributions proved erroneous making the case for a reassignment of the two instruments. Dendrochronology led us to the conclusion that the Portuguese musical instruments can be seen as a physical proof of the historical records which document Portuguese maritime wood trade with Europe, mainly with Italy.
... It gives valuable information on construction techniques used in prehistoric settlements (Billamboz, 2011) and historical buildings (Bernabei and Marchese, 2022), for shipbuilding (Domínguez-Delmás et al., 2020) and for furniture of historical and artistic importance (Klein et al., 2014). Most importantly, in the ancient art of violin-making, using wood from the same tree is a fundamental key to understanding soundboard production techniques, solving cases of previously uncertain attribution of an instrument to a particular luthier (Bernabei, 2021), and verifying the supply of the same source of timber to different violin makers (Lauw et al., 2021;. ...
... Initially introduced for English oak (Hillam and Groves, 1996), it has since frequently been used for other species (Topham and McCormick, 1998), especially in the field of dendroarchaeology (Hillam, 1998;Wazny, 2009). In the case of musical instruments, it can be decisive in suggesting an attribution to, or identifying contacts between, violin-makers McCormick, 1998 and2000;Bernabei et al., 2010;Beuting, 2011a;Č ufar et al., 2017;Lauw et al., 2021). ...
Being able to determine with certainty whether two wood samples derive from the same tree is important in many disciplines, especially in dendroarchaeology. In the past, a t-test threshold > 10 based on oak (Quercus sp,) was proposed for this purpose, and ever since this value has also been applied to other species. However, the effectiveness of the threshold is continually being questioned. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether this threshold is correct and to verify the possibility of identifying wood samples belonging to the same tree.
... Formerly, the threshold of T BP > 10 was chosen to identify wood from the same tree trunk in oak species (Hillam, 1998;Hillam and Groves, 1996) with varying applications, including those in field of musical instruments (Topham and McCormick, 1998). Although this arbitrary value cannot be accepted uncritically, it is consistent with the value proposed in several other studies on dendrochronological dating of musical instruments (Topham and McCormick, 2000;Bernabei et al., 2010;Beuting, 2011;Lauw et al., 2021). ...
... Such a limited natural distribution of "resonant" spruce contrasts with its widespread use by violin makers throughout Europe and beyond, and examples of the use of spruce in regions far from its natural range are numerous. Portuguese and Spanish luthiers used wood from the Alps for their instruments (Lauw et al., 2021;Topham, 2002;Ratcliff, 2014) as did Neapolitan luthiers (Bernabei and Bontadi, 2021). Evidently, resonant spruce had to be imported to regions where it did not grow naturally, probably through a specific trade. ...
Stradivari’s apprenticeship is still not completely understood today. Tradition has it that he was a pupil of Nicola Amati, the great violin maker who preceded him in musical instruments production in the city of Cremona. However, no documents proving Stradivari’s presence in Nicola Amati's workshop can be found. In this paper, we present a dendrochronological analysis of Stradivari’s harp, the only surviving portable diatonic harp, now in the possession of the Museum of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, Naples. The harp bears the inscription “Ant:° Stradivarivs Cremonen.s F. 1681” engraved on the column. Dendrochronological analysis of the soundboard revealed high correlation values (TBP > 16) between the tree ring sequence of the harp and that from a Nicola Amati cello made in 1679, suggesting that the wood of the two soundboards comes from the same tree trunk. The dendrochronological analysis of the harp offers new evidence of Stradivari’s possible apprenticeship and has stimulated reflection on the wood trade for making musical instruments during the golden age of Italian classical violin making (16th–18th centuries).
... The measurements were conducted on four different wood species: Fir and beech wood were widely used in eastern Europe for the construction of roofs and ceilings [34] and musical instruments [35], while poplar and oak wood found wide use as support in painting in Italy and Germany, respectively [36,37]. For each type of wood, two samples were realized as follows and reported in Figure 2: ...
... All samples are cut along the same grain line. Fir and beech wood were widely used in eastern Europe for the construction of roofs and ceilings [34] and musical instruments [35], while poplar and oak wood found wide use as support in painting in Italy and Germany, respectively [36,37]. For each type of wood, two samples were realized as follows and reported in Figure 2: ...
In this work, the dielectric permittivity of four kinds of wood (Fir, Poplar, Oak, and Beech Tree), used in Italian Artworks and structures, was characterized at different humidity levels. Measurements were carried out using three different probes connected to a bench vector network analyzer: a standard WR90 X-band waveguide, a WR430 waveguide, and an open-ended coaxial probe. In particular, we investigated the dispersion model for the four wood species, showing how a log-fit model of the open-ended data presents a determination coefficient R2 > 0.990 in the 1–12 GHz frequency range. This result has proven helpful to fill the frequency gap between the measurements obtained at different water contents with the two waveguide probes showing an R2 > 0.93. Furthermore, correlating the log-fit vertical shift with the water content, it was possible to find a calibration curve with a linear characteristic. These experimental results will be helpful for on-site non-invasive water monitoring of wooden artworks or structures. Moreover, the final results show how the open-ended coaxial probe, with a measurement deviation lower than 7% from the waveguide measurements, may be used directly as a non-invasive sensor for on-site measurements.
... This phenomenon confirms the hypotheses that (1) a violin maker, who was to build an instrument typical of oriental culture, was aware of the existence of other regions specialized in the production of high-quality wood for the construction of musical instruments and (2) a specialized trade network was able to deliver wood wherever it was needed, despite considerable distances or cultural differences. The existence of a specific trade network was confirmed by various studies (Bernabei and Bontadi 2011;Lauw et al. 2021) and by ancient manuals, which in addition to identifying the most suitable tree species for violin making, also indicate their origin (Maugin 1834). This explains why Bavarian or Swiss soundboards can be found in 18th Century instruments from central Italy (Bernabei and Bontadi 2011). ...
Turkey has a rich music culture and different kinds of musical instruments. Production of musical instruments in Turkey involved different cultural influences and evolved over time through a master-journeyman relationship until the mid-20th Century. Despite the rich Turkish music culture, studies on the technical properties and dendrochronological dating of traditional musical instruments are still almost completely absent. Sixteen instruments typical of traditional Turkish music were included in the study: five kemenche, two violins and nine ouds. All investigated musical instruments except one are part of the collection of Zeki B€ ulent A gcabay from Istanbul. Nine of the sixteen instruments were successfully dated and permitted verification of the cultural influences between different European regions, and also provided interesting insights, such as the existence of a "global" market for wood used in the production of violin soundboards.
... In order to gain insight into the age and origin of the top quality woods used in musical instruments and to increase the understanding of specific assembly techniques. At the same time, a similar study was carried out on ten foreign-made violins and cellos from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Portugal to demonstrate the scientific potential and limitations of the dendrochronological approach in this field [13]. Dellow, R. E provides new perspectives on nineteenth-century scholarship on instrumental music for the common man by analyzing the compilers of the manuscripts and gaining insights into the types of people who participated in their creation [14]. ...
In this paper, we first use CNNS to collect rich samples of folk dance music, establish a model framework and a functional system framework, and conduct a comprehensive process analysis of the music. Then, the instrumental features, frequency features, and timbre features are extracted to obtain the spectral information. In the stage of chord analysis and encoding, a multivariate chord encoding model is established based on the acquired spectral information, including two parts: chord representation preprocessing and chord encoding. By utilizing this model, the chord structure of music was successfully and accurately encoded, allowing for analysis with up to 98% accuracy. Furthermore, significant recall results were achieved, reaching over 0.9, which suggests that the extracted chord features are highly reliable and accurate in recognizing musical chord information.
... tree-ring research) is commonly used to determine the date and provenance of the wood used in historical objects and structures (see e.g. [10][11][12][13][14] ). This scientific technique provides an absolute date for each ring on a piece of wood, and when the outermost tree ring (i.e. the most recent one located un-der the bark) is present in the timber, the felling date can even be narrowed down to a couple of months (e.g. ...
Studying the wood of art objects such as sculptures, panel paintings and furniture can be crucial to elucidate their chronology and production centre. Here we present an approach that considers the provenance of the wood and its potential availability in different areas as a means to identify the provenance of wooden art objects. We illustrate this approach with an interdisciplinary study aimed to determine the date and provenance of the Woman with lantern, a carved altar fragment from the Rijksmuseum's collections (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The origin of this object is undocumented, but based on stylistic and iconographic features its provenance was proposed to be the altarpiece of Rennes cathedral (France), carved in Antwerp (Belgium) around 1520 C.E.. However, doubts arose when curators tested the potential fit of the sculpture in that altarpiece and could not find a neat match. Dating and provenancing the wood of the sculpture by standard dendrochronological means failed to produce a date, and comparison of the tree-ring pattern from the sculpture with those of the sculptures from Rennes altarpiece delivered no results either, supporting the suspicion that the Woman with lantern belonged elsewhere. In 2019, X-ray computed tomography (CT) provided digital cross-sections throughout the sculpture and a longer tree-ring series was obtained. This time, the outermost ring was dated to the year 1487 C.E.. The tree was estimated to have been cut after 1495 C.E., indicating a likely production in the first quarter of the 16th century. The origin of the timber in the eastern Netherlands/northwest Germany, combined with empirical evidence about timber availability in various regions of the Low Countries at that time, suggests that the sculpture was made in a workshop located north of the Rhine in the (current) Netherlands, rather than Antwerp. This research has led to the hypothesis that workshops north and south of the Rhine river branches in the Low Countries were supplied by forests located in different areas. If proven correct, establishing the wood provenance will assist in determining the origin of Netherlandish works of art from the late-Gothic and Northern Renaissance periods.
Authenticity is the prime factor affecting the market value of a work of art. String instruments are among the most valued works of art, particularly those made by the old violin-making masters of northern Italy in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. However, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of string instruments on the basis of style and design alone, as these are often copied or forged. Uncertainties related to craftsmanship can lead to financial and legal controversy, sometimes with even millions of dollars at stake.
The authenticity of the Stradivari “Messiah” has long been disputed. Controversies at the end of the 1990s concerning its craftsmanship have enhanced interest in dating this violin. After different dendrochronological analyses provided conflicting tree-ring dates for the front of the violin, a scientifically-sound dendrochronological study eventually established 1682 as terminus post quem, i.e., the year when the last ring of the violin front was formed, before which the violin could not have been made. This date is consistent with the attributed date of manufacture, 1716, supporting Antonio Stradivari as the maker of the “Messiah”. However, this controversial dating of the “Messiah” sent shockwaves through the violin community. Here, we present the main facts which played a role in this controversy and we show how dangerous the use of dendrochronology can be if investigators do not adhere to well-established techniques and are not versed scholars in the literature. Such controversies threaten the reputation of dendrochronology. Today, many false theories and conceptual mistakes continue to circulate in the violin community.
A thorough and scientifically-sound dendrochronological analysis of the wood used to make the instrument is the only analysis that can objectively indicate, if not the exact year an instrument was made, at least the date before which it certainly was not made. Here, we describe the importance, in terms of acoustics, of the wood-anatomical characteristics of the wood with which instruments are made, and its possible geographical provenance. We review the dendrochronological studies undertaken to assess the authenticity of the instruments made by the old Italian masters. Such studies help to establish the earliest date the tree from which the wood was taken could have been felled, and to determine the source region of the wood.
We present the main achievements and challenges that have arisen in the past 50 years of studying the authenticity of string instruments, and discuss the limitations and advantages of using dendrochronological methods to establish the provenance and time period in which a work of art was created. Finally, we describe needs of research in history, wood anatomy and dendrochronology, proposing several new methods that may open up new avenues of research and aid in the assessment of the authenticity of old string instruments.
Dendrochronology detects fraudulent art but with some caveats.
The quality of wood used for music instrument making (resonance wood) is determined by assessing six physical properties:
density, modulus of elasticity, sound velocity, radiation ratio, emission ratio, and loudness index. This can easily be done
by means of measurements of the resonance frequency and the corresponding damping factor. The method described here is based
on vibrational analyses, adapted from standard non-destructive testing of solid material, so as to provide information both
for scientific studies and for violin making. The above six properties were assessed in samples of resonance wood of different
quality and in normal (control) wood of Norway spruce and sycamore. The differences observed between the samples correlated
with anatomical or histological characteristics of the wood. A sample of best-quality Norway spruce resonance wood showed
a high radiation ratio in the axial direction, which correlated with the presence of small wood cells with thin cell walls.
In “curly maple”, a high sound velocity in the radial direction correlated with the presence of broad xylem rays. The influence
of external factors like wood moisture content or the geometry of the system is discussed within the context of the present
study.
A total of forty-nine stringed instruments of the Conservatory Cherubini collection, at the Musical Instruments Department of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, were submitted to a dendrochronological investigation in order to date them, check the validity of their attribution and to find out more about their construction characteristics. Thirty-seven instruments were successfully dated, thereby determining the terminus post quem date of manufacture. The correlation values of the statistical cross-dating tests were generally very high. The dendrochronological analyses determined which instruments had been made from wood of the same provenance and, in some cases, from the same tree trunk. The mean chronology built from the musical instrument series, named “Accademia Master Chronology”, is 558 years long and dates from 1396 to 1953AD. The interval between the youngest ring dated dendrochronologically and the given date of manufacture increased constantly in the course of the centuries, from a mean value of just over eleven years for instruments built in the eighteenth century, to nearly 74 years in the twentieth century, when the use of old wood from other artefacts became more frequent. Furthermore, in the Cherubini Collection, the average tree rings on violins are smaller than those of other stringed instruments; in fact, they increase in proportion to instrument size and are widest in cello and double bass.
The “Messiah” violin is considered by many to be the finest work by Antonio Stradivari and one of the most valuable musical instruments in existence. Questions were recently raised concerning its authenticity on stylistic and historical grounds, especially in light of conflicting sets of tree-ring dates for the spruce top of the violin. To resolve this controversy, we analysed the tree rings on the “Messiah” and those found on five other instruments constructed in the same general period, dating these against a regional chronology that integrated 16 alpine tree-ring chronologies from five countries. We conclusively dated both the “Archinto” (1526–1686) and “Kux”/“Castelbarco” (1558–1684) violas against the regional chronology. We could not directly date the “Messiah” against the regional master chronology, but found that its tree rings dated well against both the “Archinto” and “Kux”/“Castelbarco” violas. Our results strongly suggest that the tree rings of the “Messiah” violin date between 1577–1687, dates that support the attribution to Antonio Stradivari and the label date of 1716. We hypothesize the wood used to make the “Messiah” came from a low-elevation tree growing distant from the high alpine areas, whereas the wood used to make the two violas likely came from an intermediate, mid-elevation location.
The Civico Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidl in Trieste, Italy, hosts a collection of bowed string instruments, the majority of which have been made by local violin makers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dendrochronological analysis afforded the terminus post quem of 17 out of 23 bellies with significant statistical parameters. With the pooled series of all instruments, a mean chronology spanning 280 years between 1658 and 1938, named Museum Schmidl Trieste (MST), was constructed. MST correlates with numerous reference chronologies validated for Norway spruce and silver fir in the Alps and Central Europe. We exploited the width of the growth rings and the statistically most potent cross-matchings with reference chronologies for drawing hypotheses on dendroprovenance coming to the conclusion that the resonance wood of the instruments at the Schmidl-Museum mainly originated from Central Europe and the Eastern Alps.
We dendrochronologically analyzed the bellies of 10 violins differing in age, origin, number and width of tree rings, state of preservation as well as fabrication. All the bellies were made of Norway spruce (Picea abies). The dating of each violin was given as a calendar year (end date), as is usual in dendrochronological reports. We demonstrate how to interpret such reports in terms of age, origin, producer and authenticity of the instrument. Six violins were made by a known violin maker in Slovenia, who provided reliable information on the source of wood as well as on details on the wood processing. The dendrochronologically determined end dates varied from 1988 to 2005 and hence deviated by 5–22 years from the documented date of tree felling in 2010 and by 10–27 years from the years of the instrument fabrication (2014–2015). This explains why the end year (i.e., the dating of a violin) should always be considered as terminus post quem. The violins had relatively few tree rings (51–72) but it was possible to date them with local tree-ring chronologies, showing that adequate reference chronologies are essential for successful dating. An end date of 1929 was determined for violin of unknown provenance (violin 7). This date was repeatedly confirmed by numerous local chronologies and by various tree-ring sequences of instruments. The most significant statistical parameters of dating, obtained with German local chronologies and instruments, supported the opinion of experts that this instrument was probably made in a German workshop. Another violin (violin 14), privately owned in Slovenia, was dated with very high statistical values using several chronologies from the wider region of the Bohemian Forest. Its possible origin and end date 1893 confirmed the opinion of organologists that the instrument may have been made by a German workshop in the 19th century, thus proving the label “Joseph Guarnerius fecit Cremonae anno 1721” being false. Violin 15, from a private owner in Paris, dated 1748 with chronologies from the northern Alps, is in agreement with the opinion of experts that it may have been made in Paris around 1750, while the label “STRADEVARIUS [sic] Filius Cremona” proved to be a fake. Violin 13, of unknown age and origin, remained undated, although the treble side of the belly contained a very high number of tree rings (193), which usually increases the likelihood for dendrochronological dating. Its undatability is ascribed to possible measuring errors due to extremely narrow rings and a dark opaque varnish. Even the application of various equipment and methods (lenses, stereo microscope, high-quality digital image analysis) did not help to exactly identify the tree rings. This case demonstrates one of the limitations of dendrochronology.
The dendrochronological dating of the spruce wood of ancient string Instruments could give answers as to their temporal and technological construction. In order to date the growth ring series of an individual Instrument, it was necessary to collect wood from growth regions, known for their quality of sound wood and to establish master-chronologies. Using spruce trees from two German centres of string Instrument production and wood from Instruments master-chronologies could be built up, dating back to 1405. Mean curves from eight other forest sites were included in order to attribute the growth similarity of spruce wood to geographical areas. The spruce wood of 75 from a total of 134 Instruments could be dated. For some Instruments it became necessary to revise their temporal attribution. In addition to the dating the utilization of sapwood could also be identified. Comparison of the exact construction year of 35 Instruments and the denclrochronologically determined date of the youngest growth ring shows a period of between 5 and 25 years wood storage before use in Instrument making. The results relate to ancient German Instruments and cannot necessarily be transferred to other European schools for Instrument making.
A recent report by Mondino and Avalle (2009) was widely distributed that demonstrated a re-dating of the famous “Messiah” violin, a violin attributed to Antonio Stradivari with a label date of 1716. An outermost ring date of 1844 is instead suggested rather than dates in the 1680s reported in previous studies. Mondino and Avalle suggest that this outermost ring date supports the attribution of the violin to Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, a prolific French instrument maker who was well known for his copies of famous instruments. The statistical techniques and exercises used by Mondino and Avalle, however, are problematic and do not support this revised outermost date for the “Messiah” violin. Raw measurement data with original trends are used in their statistical crossdating, properties previously shown to hinder precise crossdating. They then substantiate their re-dating with polynomial trend curves, which has ever been accepted practice in dendrochronology. Furthermore, the authors use re-scaled correlation coefficients and t-values which artificially inflate the strength of the relationship between tree-ring series that are being statistically crossdated. Using the exact same tree-ring data, but using accepted techniques in statistical crossdating (e.g., the removal of all low-frequency trends and autocorrelation), we could not verify the revised dating of the “Messiah” violin. We urge caution for those who intend to use the SynchroSearch software, book, and lesson plans developed and distributed by Mondino and Avalle. This study illustrates the adverse effects possible in dendrochronology when investigators do not adhere to accepted and time-tested techniques, and are not versed in the extensive literature that highlights issues commonly encountered in statistical crossdating.
Dendrochronological analysis has been undertaken on 47 stringed instruments of the violin family. The majority of these are attributed to British makers of the 17th to 19th centuries, whilst a small number from modern makers were included for comparative purposes. Tree-ring dates have been produced for 38% of the measured sequences by comparison with spruce and larch reference chronologies from the Alpine region. The results from this pilot study have demonstrated the viability of the project and have produced additional dating evidence for many of the instruments. In addition, information concerning past working practices and the geographical source of wood used by British makers has also been provided.
Sergei Koussevitzky was one of the world's premier conductors and virtuoso bass players whose favorite instrument was an unusually-shaped bass reportedly made in 1611 by the Amati brothers, Antonio and Girolamo. In 1962, 11 years after Koussevitzky's death, his widow gave the bass to Gary Karr, currently considered to be the world's premier double bassist. In 2004, Karr donated the bass to the International Society of Bassists. Close inspection by a team of experts in 2004, however, revealed stylistic inconsistencies that suggested a later construction date. We used four reference tree-ring chronologies developed from treeline species in the European Alpine region to anchor the dates for the tree rings from the double bass absolutely in time. The bass yielded a 317-year long sequence, the longest sequence yet developed from a single musical instrument. Statistical and graphical comparisons revealed that the bass has tree rings that date from 1445 to 1761. Based on the strength of these correlations, the spruce tree harvested to eventually construct the double bass likely came from the treeline Alpine area of western Austria, not too far from Obergurgl at the Italian border. Our results demonstrate that the double bass was not made by the Amati Brothers, but likely by French luthiers in the late 18th Century.
A dendrochronological investigation of 33 violins made in Cremona during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, including 20 violins by Antonio Stradivari was carried out. After cross-matching data from these instruments an Italian Instrument Master Chronology (IIMC21) was constructed that allowed the authors to date the spruce fronts of 21 of the instruments with reference to southern Alpine chronologies. One of the instruments that were successfully dated was the violin known as “The Messiah”. This violin has been attributed to Stradivari but its authenticity has frequently been challenged and a later date of manufacture proposed. This investigation has demonstrated that the terminus post quem for the front of this violin is 1682 and is therefore consistent with the attributed date of manufacture (1716). In addition the Messiah showed a highly significant cross-match with two undisputed Stradivari violins of the same period. The dendrochronological analysis presented here therefore supports the attribution of this violin to Antonio Stradivari.
During the Middle Ages northern Belgium and The Netherlands were gradually deforested. A steadily rising demand for quality timber obliged merchants to look for new timber sources. From the 13th century onwards, large volumes of timber were imported from surrounding regions and, despite the remote supply area, merchants of the Hanseatic League managed to organize a huge timber trade from towns around the Baltic Sea.Trees from forests along the Vistula River seem to have been exported via Gdansk, first to Bruges and later to Antwerp. At their final destination the imported wood assortments were highly appreciated for shipbuilding and construction purposes, but also by woodcarvers and famous painters.Over the last decade dendrochronologists have established a dense network of historical site chronologies for northern and central Poland. These site chronologies are supposed to reflect local growth conditions and may allow the identification of the provenance of the wood of many art historical objects made out of Baltic timber.Tree-ring patterns of panel paintings and sculptures, mainly from the 14th–16th centuries, were measured and compared to this data set of site chronologies. An evaluation of the accuracy of sourcing medieval Baltic timbers using standard correlation techniques was made. The identification of provenance enriches historical information on logging activity and timber trade around the Baltic Sea during the Middle Ages.
The definition of quality in the field of resonance wood for musical instrument making has attracted considerable interest over decades but has remained incomplete. The current work compares the traditional knowledge and practical experience of violin makers with a material-science approach to objectively characterize the properties of resonance wood. Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] has earned a very high reputation for the construction of resonance tops of stringed instruments and resonance boards of keyboard instruments, and was therefore chosen as the focus of the investigation. The samples were obtained from numerous renowned resonance wood regions in the European Alps and cover the whole range of available qualities. A set of acoustical, anatomical, mechanical and optical material properties was measured on each sample. These measurements were compared with subjective quality grading by violin makers, who estimated the acoustical, optical and overall suitability for violin making. Multiple linear regression models were applied to evaluate the predictability of the subjective grading using the measured material characteristics as predictors. The results show that luthiers are able to estimate wood quality related to visible features, but predictions of mechanical and acoustical properties proved to be very poor.
More than dating? Further information obtained by dendrochronology
- Beuting
Dendrochronology, an invaluable tool in the classification of instruments of the violin family. Multidisciplinary approach to wooden musical instrument identification
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Tree-ring chronology of spruce wood and its application in the dating of stringed instruments
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Dendrochronologische Untersuchungen an Musikinstrumenten von Joachim Tielke
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Dendrochronological analyses of art objects. In Proc. SPIE 3315, Scientific Detection of Fakery in Art
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Dendrochronology and the dating of violins
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Os estrangeiros e a música no quotidiano lisboeta em finais do século XVIII
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Dendrocronologia: applicazion forensi
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