Antonio Stradivari 1677 VL Sunrise

Of the ten inlaid Stradivari instruments that survive—eight violins, one viola and one cello—the ‘Sunrise’ is the oldest and, as far as we know, the first one produced by the Cremonese master. The instrument belongs to the first period of Stradivari’s career, during which the influence of Nicolò Amati (1596–1684) was most perceptible. For instance, the upper part of the sound holes are almost aligned with the ribs, which certainly follows in the style of Amati. The f-holes would later become a chief point of comparison between Stradivari and Amati’s instruments, and William Henley provided a clear explanation of just how much Stradivari changed the f-holes: ‘The Amati soundholes are ‘‘set straight” (meaning that they are parallel to each other in their middle parts) […] Strad inclined them towards each other at the top, in a degree approximately corresponding to the general inclination of the sides of the instrument’.