Born in 1651 and a pupil of Harding, Barak Norman established himself in London in the last decades of the 17th century as the leading maker of viols of his time. Around 1700, he also began making instruments of the violin family, showing again remarkable taste and quality, especially in his production of refined cellos.
These instruments are usually small in size but with a generously broad body; the sound holes, inspired by Amati, are widely spaced; the head is slender and delicate. As with violas da gamba, decorative motifs made with purfling inlays are sometimes to be found.
