Yesterday's violin find.

As stated in the "Finds Thread", I found the aforementioned violin yesterday at a flea market. So far I know the following:

1. The tag inside reads Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis 1713.

2. I know that many of these could have those tags but not be legit Strads.

3. I believe all Strads have been accounted for.

4. I can't find any markings on the bow, but it's wood and looks old.

5. The case is GSB and is old.

6. Violin is 24" long (4/4).

7. The item is for sale if anyone is interested.

I will post pics and more details as I learn them.

 

Bow images:



-It is 29" in length.
-Bow handle is octagonal.
-Appears to have mother of pearl and possibly silver.
-It has the "Parisian Eye" feature.

 

Case:

 

Tag that reads 1713:

 

Here are the named parts of a violin. Try to take a sharp close up photo of the entire scroll including where it joins the neck, from the side, and also the nose from the bottom.

The odds are that it's a common German trade violin. But it doesn't hurt to check it out. As for the bow, look for a maker's name. Ample silver, such as silver wire wrapping is a good sign.

 

Thanks- I can't find any markings on the bow, but it resembles one made by Arnold Voigt.

Mine:

 

Arnold Voigt:

 

Here is the scroll. There appears to be a '4' on the top of it:

 

Here is the nose and neck. Please be aware that I have not done any cleaning to it. I also can't tell if the varnish on the neck is gone from long time use, or, was sanded. I know what sanded wood normally looks like, and this looks more worn, than sanded, to me.

 

A violin neck is traditionally not varnished. Sweat and varnish can result in unwanted stickiness. Folks want a dry smooth surface that the hand slides easily along.

 

Found these initials on the bottom of the case:

 

Most old Italian violins (Cremonese) such as Stradivarius were modernized in the early 1800's. The scrolls were cut off, and the neck was replaced, changing the length and angle. The original scroll was then spliced onto the new neck. There are very few old Italian violins that were left in their original baroque state, possibly because they were not being played much. Violinists wanted the modern proportions. Looking for the splice can tell you a some things, but not always definitively. If the violin has modern proportions, and there is no splice at the scroll, it's likely made after the baroque period. People making violins in the 1800's and 1900's knew about this, and often brand new violins were made with spliced scrolls so they would look like they had been old violins. If there is a splice, looking at the quality of the splice can tell you something. Splicing the scroll is not a simple thing, and it's unlikely someone would go through the effort to make a beautiful (and nearly invisible) splice on a cheap instrument. Sometimes a cheap instrument will look like it has a splice, but the splice lines are actually just scribed into the wood to make it look like a splice when there isn't actually a splice. That can indicate the instrument is an inexpensive trade violin. You can tell a scribed, fake splice from a real one by seeing if the grain of the wood continues through the splice or changes at the splice. Here are photos of a violin I have that has been spliced. This violin purports to be an 18th century Italian violin by Gennaro Gagliano. It's more likely a 19th or early 20th century English or French instrument, but could be German.

 

Thanks! I'll review it more and see if I see any other lines.

 

Great and interesting information. Thanks

 

Interesting to see. Thanks for posting the additional photos and the info you have. Hopefully you can get bottom of this and get some definite answers.