American bass viol
Benjamin Crehore
(American, 1765–1831)
1788
Object PlaceDorchester, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueMaple, pine, ebony
DimensionsLength 132 cm, width 54.6 cm (Length 51 15/16 in., width 21 1/2 in.)
Credit LineOtis Norcross Fund
Accession number1976.147
ClassificationsMusical instruments
InscriptionsManuscript label: Made & Sold by / Benjamin Crehore at / Dorchester 1788Provenance1902, likely included in an exhibition sponsored by Chickering & Sons, Horticultural Hall, Boston, Massachusetts. Before 1916, according to William H. Howe, formerly used at the Old South Church, Weymouth, Massachusetts. Early 1970s, purchased at auction, Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Harold Priest, Harvard, Massachusetts; 1976, sold by Priest to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 9, 1976)
