Three13

The eye reminds me of a Maucotel I've seen.

He owned it for a while, but the drawings and text are probably Hildegard Von Bingen or Mayan aliens.

I've read several del Gesus described as having "gentle" arching (I think Il Cannone and the Kreisler), and that Dilworth described some of dG's later arches as being "reduced to a shallow minimum". Assuming that these are pertinent to the OP's question, does anyone have measurements?

They've done some pretty intense/creative work to keep the top from collapsing on that - I think Dan Erlewine wrote an article or two about the things they did to shore it up without impacting its somewhat unusual aesthetic.

I'm more of a guitarist than a fiddler. Had I played any of the instruments at the viewing, Tarisio would probably ban me for life.

I think the Chanot soundpost placement was due to the guitar-style saddle he used on the top of those instruments.

I was there a couple weeks ago. The label wasn't right for the early 18th Century. I don't have an educated opinion about the instrument itself.

I don't have any idea about the viola itself, but seen in hand, the label was surely a bad reproduction.

That one was consigned to a well-known CA dealer with a quote of $25k before showing up at Tarisio. Presumably, the consignor didn't describe it to them, as they initially listed it as being signed "D'Arch" rather than "Dötsch", unless that was an attempt to excite a wannabe cherrypicker...

I guess the "J. Hel" in inch high letters on the lower treble bout should have pointed in that direction. I don't think I've seen another Hel with a fancy scroll before.

After you guys have figured this one out, would someone mind telling me who the most undervalued contemporary builders are? It seems like more actionable information...

If we had a few new violins and 50 years or so, we could run a very interesting experiment.

Given the lettering on the ribs and apparent quality of the scroll carving, I'd guess it's a Vuillaume production, maybe made by Derazey?

Over time, wouldn't that placement result in the table sagging beneath/behind the bridge?

Lovely work.