Turtleshell Fiddle

Date1925-1940

MediumTurtleshell and black walnut

Dimensions21 1/8" x 6 1/4" x 3 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1993.708.1

DescriptionThe instrument's neck has flat fingerboard, four tuning pegs, and the head is carved to resemble a turtle's head. The body of the instrument is a turtle shell. Four five- toed carved "feet" project from the interior of the shell where an actual turtle's feet would have been located, and a cylindircal, tapering carved "tail" is located at the bottom of the shell. A trapezoidal tailpiece having four slots cut into the upper edge is mounted on the underside of the shell at bottom.
Label TextThe names of the parts of a fiddle possibly inspired the maker of this instrument, which is also a sculpture of a turtle. The "body" of the fiddle is made from the shell that protected the body of a turtle; the turtle's carved tail forms part of the fiddle's "tailpiece"; and the fiddle's "head" at the top of the "neck" was carved to suggest a turtle's head at the end of its elongated neck.
ProvenancePurchased from J. Roderick & Sally Moore of Ferrum, VA (Blue Ridge Institute)