mysticpaw

We have bugs down under almost the size able to play viola

Great work ... needed a laugh today

https://www.lindawest.com/grancino_1716_cello_fine_Italian_cello_p/1716-grancino.htm

Thanks for the info Jacob ...... apologies for placing in the wrong place ...... I am " down under " after all

Try again

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/164235881702?ul_noapp=true I know what it isn't ...... thoughts on what it is please ?

May still be worth it if you buy the one that suits best. Maybe also ask if fees can be reduced if you purchase ( rather than negotiate on price )

Welcome to MN Tantanus. Looks to be a factory/trade instrument about early 2oth century .... probably German but there are people on this forum with much more expertise than I that may be able to identify your violin

Are you in a position to visit the shop and try the violins?

With limited photos available a more specific attribution than those offered is difficult. The majority of the instruments seem to be run of the mill decent "trade instruments". The "August Darte" looks nice and interesting and the Klotz seems right. The viola seems OK too.

Welcome to MF Rienzi and thanks for sharing the link. Fascinating stories ... in reality it's more about the people rather than any instrument attributions

Take advantage of a bad situation ….. add all those dutzenarbeit boxes I've got lying around ( kept them 30 years for parts !! ) and break out the marshmallows

Place violin in box …… introduce smoke from burned certificate of valuation … voila, fishy smell gone !!

Any idea who the expert is ? The Serdet was accompanied by a " insurance valuation certificate " that valued it at $30,000. Evidently the violin was on consignment with a reserve of $4500. Nothing about the sale made sense... why would you auction a violin that you believed to be worth a lot of money in a sale that was mostly toys and vinyl records ( and a couple of guitars ), and set a reserve price so low?

We don't get a lot of instrument auctions down under, but when a couple of fiddles came up this week they generated more interest than I would have supposed. Violin 1 was labelled as a Paul Serdet #31 1902 and realized hammer price of AU$4600. Violin 2 was labelled as a Jean Striebig #204 1923 ( considering he was born only 13 years prior to this date, that is quite an output ! ) Hammer price was AU$500 Any thoughts???