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The classical string quartet consists of two violins, one viola and one cello. But in the Museum's collection this is more unbalanced and more varied. We find 35 violins or fragments, built by luthiers like Altimira, Duclos, Vuillaume, Marquès, Contreras, and a fragment of Amati, but none by Stradivari...

Some of them avoid the classical model, like the Stroh, with a metallic bell and without a sound box, the walking-stick violins ('hidden' inside a stick), a Delft porcelain violin from around 1710 (twin of the one at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam) and violins from other cultures: a magnificent sarangui from India or a Maghrebian rebab from the 19th century.

Also the violin-guitar made in Barceloneta de Provenza, or a violin mold from Assensio. However, there are only two violas, anonymous, besides a couple of violas d'amore. Cellos, 10, with remarkable pieces by Duclos, Clarà and Bofill.

Clicking on this link you can listen the section Classicism and North European movements to discover Contreras and Maire's violins.