Fletcher

FLETCHER Worked circa. 1830 UK. One cello noted in the Hill Archive. Untutored work. Rounded outline and upright soundholes. Purfled with a single broad band of black, with added diamond shaped inlay in the middle of the back. Ribs of bird’s eye maple; back of plain sycamore. Very coarsely carved scroll. The internal inscription, below, describes the maker as a ‘Southcotterian’; that is, a follower of the religious visionary Joanna Southcott (1750-1814), whose cult reached its apogee in the latter half of the 19th century with a membership of some 100,000. Made by / Fletcher a Southcotterian / on the funeral day / of King George / the Fourth / 1830