mapfluke Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 So a friend of mine bought this violin at a small auction and got it for $70. He then decided he didn't really want it and gave it to me a few months later. Lucky Me! Well I restored it by removing the black patch of rosin build up and taking it to a luthier to have a few seams re-glued. After the restorations, the violin plays great and has a set of dominant strings on it which respond very well. (And yes, I know the images display D'addario prelude strings. I purchased the dominants a few months after these pictures were taken). I then had a conversation with my local luthier trying to determine the origin of this violin (The inside label says "Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1734" which gives me absolutely no info about this at all other than its a copy of a strad, just like millions of other violins on this planet). He told me that his first impression was that it was Chinese because of the varnish but because of the purflng, it seems French. However, the arching around the outside doesn't swoop down then back up like a typical French violin. We went on and talked about different features this violin has that pointed in completely different directions on the globe regarding its origin. I guess I'm just curious because this violin is not like any one I've seen before. Any opinions about anything would be greatly appreciated. Extra info: It has all 4 corner blocks (this is nothing like a mass-produced instrument from the 20's) There have been no cracks/repairs besides re-gluing seams The varnish looks exactly the same in real life as it does in the pictures (So there's nothing to worry about with poor color reproduction) If you want any higher res or cropped images to focus on certain details (Or even images of something I didn't take pictures of) feel free to ask, I can take pictures any time. I always feel determined to get the best picture of what I'm told to take a picture of so no need to worry about anything being out of focus, blurry, or having poor lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapfluke Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 The pictures show the violin with Dominant strings, not D'Addario prelude, my apologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 The varnish may look Chinese, but the purfling is unique to Markneukirchen-Schönbach (now Luby). All together, it is a better grade Saxon trade violin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pate Bliss Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 Me and Butch the cat are guessing Czechoslovakia, 1955. Was imported to the land of the free and bought with high hopes for someone but was never touched, incl. original plastic ass chin rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapfluke Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 4 hours ago, Addie said: The varnish may look Chinese, but the purfling is unique to Markneukirchen-Schönbach (now Luby). All together, it is a better grade Saxon trade violin. Thank you for the useful info! This is slightly off topic but is there any reason why when my friend bought the violin there was so much rosin buildup? Did the player just never clean off the rosin? Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapfluke Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 4 hours ago, Bill Merkel said: Me and Butch the cat are guessing Czechoslovakia, 1955. Was imported to the land of the free and bought with high hopes for someone but was never touched, incl. original plastic ass chin rest. When my friend bought the violin it didn't actually have a chin rest, the plastic one came from a broken unlabelled fiddle and I just haven't gotten to buying a better one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deans Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 I might say post war Bub. But the somehow the scroll looks older. Or maybe a prewar Markie that was well preserved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 I don't know that that purfling style made it to the between the wars era, let alone the postwar "Bub" move. Where is Jacob when you need him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 10 hours ago, Bill Merkel said: .... original plastic ass chin rest. Did you mean "plastic-ass chin rest," or is my grasp of anatomy lacking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pate Bliss Posted January 23, 2017 Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 We just meant whoever made those must have sold them out the wazoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapfluke Posted January 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) nice to know Edited January 24, 2017 by mapfluke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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