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The "Hamma" is another wonderful example of Stradivari’s golden period, which was in fact coming to a close in the year of its manufacture, 1717. The glorious broad-flamed maple of the back is familiar from many other instruments of these years, and is stunningly revealed by the worn but still lustrous red varnish. The purfling line is particularly strong; the black veneer once again broad and crisp, in contrast to the lighter inlay in some earlier work.
The front displays the signs of long use. The edges of the soundholes are a little ragged from repeated interventions of the soundpost adjuster, but they still show the typical features of the period. They are set rather upright and close to the edge, with relatively small upper holes. h e treble ‘F’ leans inward slightly, in contrast to the "Maurin", whose soundholes are stiffly vertical. This variation is explained by Stradivari’s method of laying out the soundholes from the edges of the violin rather than an imposed centre line. Any slight displacement of the centre ribs during construction is carried over into a noticeable deflection of the soundhole position.
The "Hamma" takes its name from the leading German violin business, founded by Fridolin Hamma in 1864. Based in Stuttgart, it became over several generations of the family one of the most prestigious establishments in Europe. During the Second World War the shop was destroyed in an air raid, along with its precious stock of master instruments. This serves as a reminder of the other masterpieces that must have been lost over the centuries since these fragile but precious instruments were made, and it sometimes seems surprising how many have actually survived the ravages of time.
Like Stradivari, however, the "Hamma" shop carried on, rebuilt after the war and only finally closing on the retirement of Walter Hamma in 1982. in the post-war years, Hamma continued to deal in the very finest instruments, this magnificent 1717 Stradivari being but one of many to bear the family’s name. In 1976, it was purchased in Germany by Peter Biddulph, the eminent London dealer and restored. At that time it had a replacement scroll of inappropriate quality, but an original Stradivari head of the correct period was discovered and fi tted to the instrument. It now resides in the collection of Muneyuki Nakazawa in Japan.
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