Eight of these bear the coat of arms of Charles IX of France, and so were probably completed before the French king’s death in 1574. His instruments, which show an elegance of line and more delicacy and lightness than many later examples, are exceedingly rare eight small and large violins, three violas, and five violoncellos are all that survive.
1511–1580) of Cremona was among the first generation of makers to add a fourth string to the violin and to create the standard sizes of cello, viola, and violin in their classic modern shapes. Violin family instruments appeared in essentially their modern form in northern Italy, specifically in Brescia and Cremona, about 1550.
