Violin played by the enslaved man Jesse Burke

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A violin (.1a) with a bow (.1b) stored in a wooden case (.2), all owned and played by Jesse Burke, who used the violin during and after enslavement. The violin (.1a) has a reddish-brown stained wooden body, neck, peg box, and scroll. The pegs, fingerboard, and tailpiece are made of wood painted black. A small piece of mother of pearl is attached at the center top of each peg. The strings are made from steel. A paper label is adhered to the interior back of the violin body, which can be seen through the sound holes. Printed on the label in black text are the words: "Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis / Faciebat Anno 1726". The bow (.1b) has a rod made from a dark-stained wood with a metal tension screw. The frog is made from wood painted black and inlaid with mother of pearl and a metal ferrule.

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