ROBERT DUNCAN

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Robert Duncan was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, and was active as an instrument maker in the city from around 1740 until his death after 1781. He was an excellent craftsman as well as the earliest and most influential violin maker of the ‘Aberdeen school’.

Pupils and followers of Duncan include George Mollison, Joseph Ruddiman and Charles Cramond, all of whom later ran their own successful businesses. Indeed, the ‘Aberdeen Stainer’ model is quite unlike the slightly later Cremonese-influenced Edinburgh style. However, the Aberdeen model compares favourably with London work of the day. John Johnson, Henry Jaye and Richard Duke come to mind while the cello featured here particularly recalls the full-arched, dark-varnished and paintedpurfled work of Peter Wamsley, active in Piccadilly during the second quarter of the 18th century. If Duncan was self-educated in lutherie, he certainly must have had the opportunity to study classical English, and possibly also Italian, work.

Duncan was employed as a porter at Aberdeen’s Marischal College from 1753 until 1781, a role that probably entailed the maintenance of in-house instruments.

• MAKER

ROBERT DUNCAN

• NATIONALITY

UK (SCOTTISH)

• BORN

c.1710

• DIED

AFTER 1781

• INSTRUMENT

BAROQUE CELLO

• DATE

1756

INSTRUMENT

This handsome cello of 1756 was made for Dr James Beattie, a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, a member of the Aberdeen Musical Society and professor of philosophy at Marischal College. Beattie bequeathed the cello to the college, where it remains contained within its original wooden case.

FORM AND CONSTRUCTION

The model is distinguished by the rounded curves and full form. At 126mm the ribs are relatively high, precisely constructed and perfectly flowing. This high standard allows us to speculate that an external mould was used. The linings are around 15mm in depth. The neck is attached to the top rib with two supporting pins through the top-block into the neck root, a method commonly applied in early Aberdeen lutherie.

ARCHING

Full and strong, the long arch of both plates forms a long continuous curve. The deep, wide edge channelling can be clearly seen in the three-quarter view. The highest part of the table arching is in front of the bridge.

PURFLING

Typically for early Aberdeen work, inlaid purfling was rarely used. Here the scratched and painted lines are positioned close to the perimeter of the plates. Similar markings decorate the fingerboard’s upper surface.

SCROL L

The volute is deeply dished and flowing, finished with a narrow chamfer. The upper wall of the pegbox is widely chamfered, another elegant touch.

VARNISH

Duncan generally varnished his violins with an amber-coloured varnish. However, possibly on the request of the commissioner, this instrument is covered in a dark brown finish. Viewed under UV light the underlying timber appears to have been spirit-stained prior to the application of a clear oil-based layer.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY DAVID RATTRAY

All measurements taken with callipers

The preservation of the cello is partly down to its finely crafted bespoke case (below), no doubt made in the Duncan workshop. Eighteenth-century cellos (or ‘bass fiddles’ as they were commonly called then) were generally carried in baize cloth bags, which offered little protection while in transit.