violin

The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation was able to purchase this extremely rare violin in 2026 from its owner, Lucy van Dael. Van Dael, a violinist and pioneer in early music—notably as one of the co-founders of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century—had received the instrument on loan from a Dutch couple who had owned the Amati for several generations. On Van Dael’s advice, they had the Amati—which had been modernized over the centuries to suit large concert halls—restored to its original Baroque condition. A few years later, Van Dael was able to purchase the instrument from the couple. It is difficult to determine exactly how many owners the violin had had. It had been in the couple’s family for a few generations. The woman’s grandfather played the violin. According to him, the Amati came from a Swiss collection, where the instrument had not been used for two centuries. In early 2018, Lucy van Dael loaned her violin to The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation, and in the versatile (Baroque) violinist Cecilia Bernardini, The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation found a very suitable (and fortunate) first player. In 2026, Van Dael decided to sell her beloved Amati after all. She found a worthy home for it at The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation. Cecilia Bernardini continues to play the violin.