Tarisio June sale : F. Rugeri violin leaving Cremona

[Lord John]

Lot 202 on the Tarisio June sale is the Ruger that was exposed at the "treasure trove" in Cremona, and was on "extended loan" to the town since 2008.

https://tarisio.com/auctions/auction/lot/?csid=2198978560&cpid=3395305472&filter_key=

It is sad to think that this beauty will leave its cradle, and remain concealed from now on.

By the way, the back of this violin has always intrigued me, being in four parts of uneven but utterly handsome curl. I would say temptatively : "pearwood". (on other pics the back appears of a much more reddish hue)

This denomination covers a broad range of tree species, from the true pears(Pyrus spp.), up to the service trees (Sorbus spp.) etc.

I also heard that the cremonese makers used the mediterranean hawthorn (Crataegus azarolus). In this specific case, could it be Azarolus ?  another clue might be the uneven grain, hesitating between tangential and radial plane, as could be expected from a ridged, gnarled trunk.. Any thoughts about that ?

[Televet]

 

On 6/5/2019 at 2:34 PM, Lord John said:

Lot 202 on the Tarisio June sale is the Ruger that was exposed at the "treasure trove" in Cremona, and was on "extended loan" to the town since 2008.

https://tarisio.com/auctions/auction/lot/?csid=2198978560&cpid=3395305472&filter_key=

It is sad to think that this beauty will leave its cradle, and remain concealed from now on.

 

On the other hand, it is possible that it might end up being played by someone. We can only hope

 

[Moroni Larson]

 

[Lord John]

Good point. Do you believe the graft is original ? what could have triggered such a repair ?

[J.DiLisio]

I noticed that the center seam on the back has a noticeable curve to it.  Any thoughts as to how or why this was done?

The figure looks like opio maple.

[Moroni Larson]

 

[Lord John]

What do you guys think about that scar ?