Henry Lockey Hill, London, c.1800

Description

A fine English violoncello by Henry Lockey Hill, London, circa 1800.

This is a fascinating violoncello made by Henry Lockey Hill (b.1774, d.1835). His early work shows a strong continuation from earlier English work, especially that of Lockey Hill with who shows a strong continuation from the work of his father, Lockey Hill. However he is one of a number of English makers from about 1800 who continued the traditional English models, but show a strong influence from the Italian maker, Vincenzo Panormo after he permanently settled in London in 1789. In a later stage of his work with the firm of John Betts, Henry Lockey Hill concentrated on making detailed copies of Italian instruments. However, instruments of this intermediate period are amongst the most interesting of his work. For cellos the combination of the English outline with a very Italianate arching produces an absolutely superb outcome. They are perhaps lesser known than Kennedy and Forster because of a relatively small output, and because of the changing nature of his work, but the results speak for themselves. In a world where English cellos are increasingly seen as the next best thing after classical Italian, this is about as good as it gets.