This violoncello was made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, in 1688. It is the Marylebon violoncello made of a two-piece spruce top with a grain widening toward the edges, back of two-piece plain maple, sides and scroll of similar plain maple, and orange-brown varnish on a golden background. This instrument has been judiciously reduced in size, from the larger pattern of the maker's work of that period. With 20th century applied decoration imitating Stradivarius ornamentation.
There is a compilation of measurements of the Marylebon violoncello by Christer A. Berglund available from the collections files.
The Marylebon violoncello is part of The Herbert R. Axelrod Quartet of Decorated Instruments by Antonio Stradivari, consisting of the Ole Bull violin,1687; the Greffuhle violin, c.1700; the Axelrod viola, 1695; and the Marylebone violoncello, 1688.