The National Music Museum has just had one of its rarest instruments returned. The Amati ‘King’ Cello was on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The National Music Museum in Vermillion is home to some of the rarest and most iconic instruments in music history. This includes the ‘King’ cello who some at the National Music Museum call the Mona Lisa of stringed instruments. The instrument was made over 450 years ago in Italy and has a history of royalty. The Cello has been in New York for the past three months and returned last week. The Museum held a rare out-of-case viewing for Museum members. Arian Sheets is the Stringed Instruments Curator for the Museum. She says she is glad the instrument got back safely.
“It’s really easy to take for granted something as obvious as a cello or a violin because we’re so familiar with them. But stepping back in time and realizing these were some of the first ones that existed. I mean you have to, you know, go outside of yourself and really think about it, it’s amazing,” says Sheets.
The King Cello is heading back to its display with the other Amati stringed instruments. The National Music Museum is the only museum that owns four Amati instruments.