Three13

Whenever I read about that theft and the subsequent trial, I can't believe how atrocious the thief and his wife were. It's worth noting that she married him AFTER he was convicted of molesting her granddaughter.

Wow - it looks AND sounds like a bowling ball!

In that case, I think you can make the legitimate argument that Francesco was working in Antonio's workshop, but I guess it's the corollary to late Filius Andreae cellos becoming Del Gesus because they show the son's hand and should be worth more as such... I love the subjectivity of attribution in the violin world. It keeps it endlessly interesting.

The head had been replaced on that one, and I imagine that whoever called it a Nemessanyi was trying their best (I think it had been pegged as a Nemessanyi in the early 20th Century). Imagine how hard it would be to go out on a limb to attribute a previously unknown Del Gesu? Particularly if you weren't the owner... The problem with being an expert is that it makes a lot of sense to err on the side of conservatism.

How many great instruments have been inadvertently downgraded for the same reason (like the misattributed Nemessanyi that turned out to be a Del Gesu from 2015)?

The OP shows a poster of that portrait, so prints were obviously made. I'd guess that is one of them that's been cut down.

I don't know where that background comes from, but my experience has been that it doesn't bode well for authenticity - is this one of the usual internet sales outfits or an auction company?

I have a couple friends who know the owner very well. This thread reminded me to reach out to the one who is closest with him, who told me that they've got a new office manager who is apparently trying to fix issues like this (evidently, there are a few people out there who got left in the dust). I'm told that if I reach out to him, I might be able to get the money applied to a regular production piece, but it's unlikely that my order will ever get made. Probably better than nothing.

I think it's a lot easier to say what it isn't...

Is this how you get soundposts out?

If you're in New York, maybe you could find him some Heluva Good Bacon Horseradish Dip. It would do the trick...

I'd just securely affix some tape to the end of a dowel and use that to remove the offending chip.

There very well might not be much more to the story - I've been through a similar issue with a custom guitar order where I paid a sizable deposit (6 years ago) to a company that then experienced exponential growth (Electrical Guitar Company). The two times I managed to get the owner on the phone, he promised to call me back and flaked. Nobody at the company has ever offered to make things right. Some people are just dishonest and lousy at customer service: once they've managed to attain a certain amount of success, they have no interest in living up to the commitments that they made when they needed clients. I may be venting a little here. Unlike the OP, I sent the company $1,750 and an exceptional piece of birdseye maple.

This thread is well worth reading:

Violins made in Markneukirchen weren’t made in a factory or workshop, I'm not sure many people would consider them more desirable as a result.