Mandolin

Angelo Mannello

1900 · Spruce, maple, tortoiseshell, ivory, mother-of-pearl, metal · Musical Instruments

This instrument is among the finest decorated mandolins made in the U.S., where the Neapolitan mandolin, mostly played by Italian immigrants, became a fad between about 1880 and 1930. Angelo Manello emigrated from Italy in 1885 and established a mandolin factory in New York that in the early 1900s employed up to seventy-five makers, including artists for the decorative work. This instrument has a body of thirty-two fluted birds-eye maple ribs as well as mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell veneers.

Artist

Angelo Mannello

Date

1900

Medium

Spruce, maple, tortoiseshell, ivory, mother-of-pearl, metal

Culture

American

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Gift of the family of Angelo Mannello, 1972