The viol-quartet by Hans Hennig Jordan (1905–1979), Markneukirchen, was acquired in the 1930s by the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and was used there until the 1950s.

The instruments are important witnesses of the early efforts in the revival of early music in Basel. As a student of Peter Harlan, Hans Hennig Jordan was one of the pioneers of historically oriented instrument making in Germany.

The form of the instruments was perhaps inspired by the instruments of Antonio Ciciliano, made in the 1560s in Venice, which are preserved in the collection of early instruments of the Fine Arts Museum in Vienna.