Other
Josiah Chapman
1800

This is a pochette - which is French for 'little pocket' - and is only 41cm long. It was made in around 1700 in France, but we're not sure of the maker. It is decorated with silver wire, a heart hole in the body and a woman's head carved into the top. Pochettes were designed to fit in your pocket - hence pochette - and were mainly used for dancing and teaching. Played by bracing against your chest or upper arm, they were more of a fiddle than a violin-style, and some were played in very fancy formal French courts.
This item came to the RNCM as part of Josiah Chapman's private collection.