Guido

Mine's bigger ;-)

That's cool. I have not seen many of these coming from Saxony. Your pegs look old English. Are you sure the violin is Saxon? Old English was often built-on-the-back, too.

Interesting. The purfling pulled up into a point at the button is a feature of some Saxon makers, however, it is done here in non-original territory as the instrument was enlarged. The rib corners point towards being built on the back, which often indicates Saxony, but there were other places where instruments were built on the back, for instance Brescia, but also many others. The scroll does not look Saxon, but rather Italian (possibly Brescia) to me. This look could have been imitated elsewhere and/or the head may not be original to the instrument. Actually, the style appears exaggerated, which often means its an imitation. The long and angled sound holes are not very clear in the picture but could be consistent, again with Brescia, or a copy of the style. Some ideas, but probably not very helpful.

Yes, many did but generally in small numbers compared to the more common models. Among the famous ones, Gabriel Lemböck (Vienna) comes to mind. What one finds in abundance today though are double purfeled trade instruments from Saxony around 1900…

When you look at the violins that have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair at some point in the past... the law of numbers can be even more powerful.

The info what the violin is was communicated in the first post, maybe not as clear as one should when assuming that the OP would have very little knowledge. I.e. I could have added the name of towns and an estimate of age. As for the value/ condition. It has been explained sufficiently above. These violins are often a borderline case when just considering a full set-up, even if there is no damage, or worse, bodged previous repair attempts. One of the pictures shows an off-set between button and heel. This could be a lose neck which one may just glue back in or it may already be glued in the wrong place possibly with inappropriate glue. Looking at other pictures it seems the heel was/is broken further up, which makes me think we are looking at a bodged repair. But even in the best case, if this damage is fresh, a proper repair would most certainly not be worth it. Many other defects may be present but not visible in the photos. Finally, as Martin suggested, and as I alluded to when saying "I would not bid on it", you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to think that those pictures (the only pictures currently available) are pulled straight out of ebay, including the scales and measuring stick for reference. An yes, as Blank face said, this sort of thing happens over and over again. Often people buy first and then ask questions... so maybe we get to see more pictures when the violin arrives.

Looks like the heel is cracked when you zoom in the second picture.

High ribs narrow it down to a number of places/ times; and would fit in with what Jacob said. I was assuming all posts after Jacob where just for our mutual entertainment and learning :-)

I wouldn’t bid on it. Simple German trade instrument most likely with a neck problem not worth having fixed properly.

Cleaning will usually also mean periods of drying, so maybe you can only try one or two rosins a day with lengthy breaks in between. Comparison will be difficult. I think you get a better indication of differences when you put on a new rosin on top of the old one and compare immediately. It‘ll be a mix of the two but the direction of change should be noticeable. Also, I’d be careful not to get too much rosin on at any time, apply sparingly and give some time to play out.

New Chinese viola had these strings on. The silk winding and colour seems a good match for Tonikas, but the colours at the scroll end would match violin strings (not viola strings). I thought Pirastro had colours to designate pitch, e.g. A is black no matter violin or viola...? Or have they changed it to designate position?

What would like like to learn from this that can't be seen already in the photos? The shape of the corner blocks seems to be a bit of a giveaway. Edit: Ups, too late. Did we just have half a dozen posts in a couple of minutes on this thread???

The off-centre end pin hole and shallow saddle cut-out in the lower rib seem to point to originally higher ribs which may have been planed down. This would also be consistent with the upper linings being replacements.

Nice, thanks. Never seen so many left handed players!

Most people are aware that some violins are worth millions and that they would not be able to tell the difference. If they are motivated enough to chase some dough on eBay they will have been motivated enough to make sure they have nothing valuable, or even that repairs and set-up work wouldn’t be worth it.

I guess they called it Kreusler because Kreisler and Kreutzer were already take.

Fully agree, except retail value varies a lot. Many shops routinely ask over $5k for better than average German trade violins of the period.

Or maybe you know someone who has a mobile phone with camera and internet access?

Maybe you get a new computer so you can upload pictures

I took that to be deliberate feature of imitating a classic violin. I would not necessarily expect the scribe line to be part of the ordinary Chinese production process, but maybe I'm wrong ;-)

Sorry for the previous short answer. Not the original strings. Was testing the cheap Chinese synthetic core strings at the time. Initially quite good but deteriorated fast and started to sound choked. Got proper strings on by now. Yes, I’d be sure the instrument is Chinese and I think @uguntde nailed it.

No.

Looks consistent to me. Probably entry level French production early 20th century. Got cleats along the back centre seam?

Thanks, that is indeed the same antiquing style. Perfect match ;-)

I picked up this violin from the local classifieds a few years back. On the one or two blurry photos it looked like something I would want to inspect rather quickly... It turned out to be a new instrument (probably 5-10 years old by now), but due to the low price and the interesting antiquing I bought it anyways. The wood inside it totally white and the varnish has a strong and unpleasant smell that has not worn off in the few years I have had it. Anyhow, I'm sure it's Chinese, but I never saw anything in this style despite the plethora of Chinese violins online. Can anyone say anything more about it?