Edward Pamphilon

Edward was a senior member of an English violin making family established in Essex. Born about 1646, Edward’s instruments are the only ones to have been formally identified by label, but evidence of his life and work in Clavering is supported by archival evidence. Other members of the family include his uncle Richard, active in 1656 in Essex, his brother Nicholas (1652-1726), of Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, his cousin Nicholas (II) (1705-1760), and Richard (II) (1676-1730). It is thought that Thomas Urquhart of London (c1629-1698) was an early influence, and the general form and arching is similar, but Pamphilon’s work is slightly coarser and superficially related to Brescian styles. It is significant that they follow the northern European practice of setting the ribs into a slot cut into the inner face of the back and front. The scrolls also have an interesting and characteristic form, with the volute marked out at the base by a series of prick marks, and the chin of the pegbox incised with a triangle.