This is a large archlute, a copy of a beautiful instrument in the Brussels Conservatoire collection by Mattheus Sellas, Venice. It has a very similar style to the chitarroni of Mattheus Buechenberg, and indeed could be tuned as a small chitarrone, with re-entrant tuning. The back can be built in a hard wood, as the original, for a penetrating sound, or in yew for a warmer tone. Stringing (6x2)(8x1).