Description
Violin neck back and sides only, for parts or repair, from Italy - mid-1600's? Shipped with UPS. I bought this in pieces about 20 years ago (circa 2003) when I began learning about violin repair and building, having then spent about 20 years building other string instruments such as guitars, mandolins and new type sitars. It had a top, yet it was in so many pieces, and had been coated with a thick layer of 'hardware store' brown stain, so was tossed. IF I had known back then what I know now about old violins from this period, I would have pieced it back together, or found a very old piece of spruce and made this a recreation/reproduction. I put it together this far, just for practice. It has a repair label in it, from a well known repair man in Maine, dated 1909 (yet the black mark on this label covers a '18__', indicating this repair man was near the end of his career), as can be seen in the pictures. The neck block has been replaced long ago, to move the neck up and back, and titled to the modern position; as was done to nearly all classic period violins. Violin necks used to be joined straight to the body with a thin wedge holding the fingerboard up (before 1740?). There Is a glue area from an original label, and here is where it gets interesting. The corner blocks, (of Spruce not Willow as Antonio Stradivari used) suggest it is a Cremona original, from the mid-1600's, yet I can not find info on which builder was in the practice, as this violin shows, of sloping the back down from the middle with NO dishing, going right out to the sides. The wood is dished out from the inside. It has a one piece back, and the hard yet not well figured Maple suggests a second tier builder, such as early Guarneri family is said to have used. It is carved in a very classical Italian style, obviously by a master and with great precision. Dimensions are - 355mm long back - body 167 - 107 - 204mm on the lower bout. The narrow waist puts this in the mid-1600's and possibly, I say possibly, early Guarneri family or later Amati. The neck has the "Straight Grain" and tight figuring seen on some original Guarneri necks. It has a beautiful golden varnish intact on the scroll, with a bit still near the tail, which would be very hard to reproduce (I've tried as many have). In a moving accident, my fault, the neck and block were broken off the back and I glued it back together temporarily; a condition issue that is not so large since that portion of the back, down to the purffling was replaced anyway when the neck block was changed. By the tail block there is a one inch piece of the side from another violin, and I am not proud of this 'practice' repair of some damage (yes those are pieces of coffee stirring sticks), yet that can be changed for the better. I had cut a top of very fine Spruce to rebuild this, yet because of major health problems, and other factors, I am out of business and need to sell this. It could be used for a display, {'Million dollar fiddle, half off!'} or as a pattern to recreate this old classic style, or a teaching tool showing very fine work and how old violins had corner blocks, whereas nearly all newer ones do not. The carving shows tool marks, from a hand chisel, yet the lines are impressive as classic Italian Renaissance form. Feel free to ask questions or send more info - this price, while high, is what some pros told me it ought to be worth, in a strong market as we say.
