myrthe Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Hi all, I hope all of you are OK in this hard period! May I ask you for some advice for a cello? I was told that they got this cello from the auction in France at about 23,000 dollars years ago. But I am not sure if this instrument is genuine, because the pattern of the wood is different from the other Bernardel cellos which I saw on the internet. So I want to ask you some advice. 1. Is this cello a genuine Bernardel? 2. If it is genuine, is Bernardel a good maker? Is it worth buying it at 10000 dollars?(They are at least two large cracks which were repaired) 3. In terms of sound quality, I think the sound of this instrument is rather wild and less soft (and the volume of sound is large); which can be a merit and a shortcoming. Is that the characteristic of this maker? (If this is a genuine one) Thank you for your favor! May all of you be safe from this horrible "Crown" virus! Edited May 16, 2020 by myrthe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin swan Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Slightly hard to tell from your photos but the cello doesn't look French to me. I wouldn't pay $10,000 for it and I would feel extremely sorry for someone who paid $23,000 at a French auction. Do they have a receipt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrthe Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) Oh! Hello Mr. Swan, nice to see you again! I attached new pictures. The first picture and the second one are the same cello. (they look little bit different because of the light) You are right, it does not make sense that one sells an instrument at 10k which he bought at 20k dollars. The broker said that the owner has some financial problem that is why he is trying to sell the instrument. I was told that the owner does not have a certificate. Edited May 17, 2020 by myrthe Copyright problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellopera Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I have seen and tried four different Bernardels in the past two years and from that experience, this looks nothing like those instruments. He uses dark red varnish on 90% of his cellos. Go check Bernardel on the Cozio Archive https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/browse-the-archive/makers/maker/?Maker_ID=951&filter_type=4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blank face Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 4 minutes ago, cellopera said: Go check Bernardel on the Cozio Archive https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/browse-the-archive/makers/maker/?Maker_ID=951&filter_type=4 Leon Bernardel was just a trade mark of the Couesnon shop and had nothing to do with any Bernardel family member. Therefore 10K would be even far too much if it's real, not to mention 23K. That's just hilarious. Otherwise I completely agree with Martin that the label looks bogus and the instrument seems to be a damaged cello from somewhere outside of France and a later period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellopera Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 19 minutes ago, Blank face said: Leon Bernardel was just a trade mark of the Couesnon shop and had nothing to do with any Bernardel family member. Therefore 10K would be even far too much if it's real, not to mention 23K. That's just hilarious. Otherwise I completely agree with Martin that the label looks bogus and the instrument seems to be a damaged cello from somewhere outside of France and a later period. True, I thought he was asking about Auguste Sébastien Philippe Bernardel, I didn’t even take a look at the label. All clear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrthe Posted May 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 Thank you very much Mr. Swan, Blank face and cellopera! You must have a lot of experiences in this field! You are right, I thought this instrument did not look like other Bernadel cellos. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin swan Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 To be strictly accurate, Léon Bernardel was a maker in his early adulthood. I've never seen any of his work but there's an example in the Viaduct Violins archive, and Michael Appleman has seen one if not two. Léon was a member of the Bernardel clan (ASP Bernardel was his great uncle) and he did work briefly for Gand & Bernardel. However, as Blank Face says, the several thousand "Léon Bernardel" instruments which circulate are indeed Mirecourt trade instruments of various grades, none particularly distinguished, but which sell for more than they should because of their purely metaphysical connection to the Bernardel name. SO although the name belongs to someone who was a violin-maker, the instruments are not made by him and are trade instruments of varying quality, from poor to not quite so poor. Very like John Juzek in fact The OP's instrument is most likely Saxon, judging by the rib corners and the varnish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrthe Posted May 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 Thank you for the comment! Mr. Swan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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