Crazy price for broken violin

[Stavanger]

So, I followed an auction on ebay, thinking I might pay tops 50-100$ to have a new "resurrection" project.
However, someone paid 850$  for what is essentially a broken body!? Is there something Im missing here? It is most certainly not italian from 1589! Am I right guessing german 1900 +/- 15yrs?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Giovan-Paolo-Maggini-Brescia-1589-4-4-Flame-Tiger-Curly-Back-Violin-RARE-/262351467455?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=bigefYq%252FXHg%252BiGJ6m8fPiGIlTcE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

(uploaded some of the pictures here, in case advert disaperars)

Edit: Maybe this is the way to go. Disassemble and loosing parts instead of repairing before selling! 

[Dani Tsui]

Perhaps shill bidding??

[luthier]

I saw this one, and couldn't believe the price...a couple of total (how do you say idiot in a kind way?)...bidders. There are always a number of nice German or Czech Maggini's that need little or nothing at all that never get close to this price, mostly going for less than half.

[Ben Hebbert]

The Lewis & Son stock number probably gave the buyer confidence that it was something good, even if Maggini is well off the cards. 

 

Looks to me like one of those awful fiddles from the 1920s, made by an accordion repair man or whatever, who wanted to look like he was upholding ancient Italian traditions so Il Duce would smile benevolently over him, so got his screwdrivers out to carve a fiddle or few... Tarasconi, Carlo Bosi, Mario Giradi, Quentin Tarantino something like that. (... yawn). If you can sell it, $850 was a steal, even with all that work.

[Tess1]

This may not be related to your chat but I have an old violin that was given to my mother as a child she said it was old then, it has" giovan paolo maggini  brefcia16" printed on the wood inside, it is not in good repair missing most of the bits, I am unsure as to the value and if I want to keep it at all, I do not play the violin and it could not be played anyway without the bridge strings etc. What I want to know is if I have something worth restoring/selling. 

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by Tess1
to check files

[Herman West]

there are tens of thousands of these, and a lot are in much better shape. Repairing would cost more than you'd get for it.

[Jack Devereux]

On 4/8/2016 at 7:32 AM, Ben Hebbert said:

Looks to me like one of those awful fiddles from the 1920s, made by an accordion repair man or whatever, who wanted to look like he was upholding ancient Italian traditions so Il Duce would smile benevolently over him, so got his screwdrivers out to carve a fiddle or few... Tarasconi, Carlo Bosi, Mario Giradi, Quentin Tarantino something like that. (... yawn). If you can sell it, $850 was a steal, even with all that work.

I laughed loudly in public at this. It’s funny cuz it’s true..

[Tess1]

Thank you your replies, looks as though I will just throw it in the bin, but best to have been sure,

[Guido]

On ‎4‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 7:34 AM, Tess1 said:

Thank you your replies, looks as though I will just throw it in the bin, but best to have been sure,

Don't throw it in the bin; throw it on ebay as everybody else does with violins not worth repairing.

[Rue]

You can paint it and hang it up as part of a Thanksgiving/Christmas door wreath...something along the lines of: