The Cutler-Challen' mandolin - Image 1

Although best known today for his bowed stringed instruments, Stradivari's surviving patterns and instruments indicate that he made all other kinds of stringed instruments, as well. This choral mandolin is one of only two that are known, the second held in a private collection in London. Stradivari signed this diminutive instrument in ink on the inside of the central rib. Amazingly, the Cutler-Challen choral mandolin survives with its original, decorative wooden case.