An Ottoman violin or Kemençe, Turkey, 19th century, with faceted wooden body overlaid...

An Ottoman violin or Kemençe, Turkey, 19th century, with faceted wooden body overlaid with tortoiseshell and lavishly inlaid with floral scrolls and arabesques executed in mother-of-pearl. 43cm. long

Provenance: Private Collection Oliver Hoare (1945-2018)

Examples of similar Ottoman Kemence exist in the Sharjah Museum UAE and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. .

Under Ottoman rule, concert music, whether at the palace or elsewhere, was simply to be listened to. Concerts were performed both indoors and outdoors and the Kemence was the only stringed instrument which was bowed.

This example could have been made for the Ottoman palace or mansions by great masters such as Büyük İzmitli (from the town of Izmit) or Barovak Baron, both craftsmen renowned for their delicate and detailed inlay. At this time, there were also a considerable number of Greeks who resided in Ottoman Turkey, in the region formerly known as Pera (today Beyoğlu), who were equally respected for their fine craftsmanship.

According to Carl Engles A Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1874), pp. 207-10, The musical instruments in Turkey are chiefly made in Constantinople [Istanbul]. The woods principally used in their construction are from the twon of Ismid [Izmit] and Bartan in Asia Minor; and also from Abasa in Trans-Caucasia. Rose wood and ebony are imported from India, and mahogany from America…The tortoise shell, mother-of-pearl, and ivory are imported from Egypt, and from Yemen and Hedjaz in Arabia.