Geometric Design of the Stradivari Model G Violin, Part Three: The Scroll

with Robert J. Spear

Originally published in American Lutherie #95, 2008

see also,
Geometric Design of the Stradivari Model G Violin, Part One: Mold and Template by Robert J. Spear
Geometric Design of the Stradivari Model G Violin, Part Two: f-holes by Robert J. Spear



Scrolls are all about spirals, and in mathematics only two kinds of spirals exist: the Archimedean and the logarithmic. The Archimedean is considered a special case because it is the only spiral where the expansion of each complete turn is identical in dimension to the one before or after it. A commonly used example is that of a tightly coiled garden hose laid on a flat surface. All other spirals, including golden-section spirals, are logarithmic. Although the actual distance between turns of log spirals is not uniform, the rate of expansion remains constant.

To the Renaissance geometer and artisan, spirals were a natural form of great beauty and inspiration. A spiral played with the viewer’s visual senses, leading his eye on a merry chase and fooling it with the subtle shifting of its expansion. In modern times, the execution of the scroll is considered one of the few remaining places on the violin where the craftsman can display individuality, originality, and skill — and sometimes even all of these together!