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Posted

Hi, 

I saw a violin for sale titled as:

"Cute Italian Violin by Carlo Loveri, c.1880, Naples. 356mm. Has to screw holes where the bridge goes because a lot of violins from this maker were put into the automated violin playing machines. Needs those tiny screw holes fixed there and in the scroll box as well as needs a new fingerboard and Center seam reglued in top."

The seller claims that when it's restored it should be worth between $20,000 and $35,000. 

Can anyone help identify the authenticity, quality and value of this instrument based on the pictures attached? 

It's been made available for $4,000. Is that a reasonable price for this instrument? Does it make sense to invest in the hopes of flipping it?

Thanks in advance!

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Posted

From the photos it looks as if it could be one of these manufactured South Italian violins from this period. They have the particular hard and crackled varnish, are often very heavy and are usually selling in good condition in the low thousands, not at 20 or 36 K, that's fantasy.

I have no idea what's the reason for this screws, and before estimating restoration costs it's necessary to know what's going on inside beneath them. If the seller claims that "a lot of them" were put into playing machines it should be possible to find more of them with that attachment, what's not the case to my knowledge.

Posted
1 hour ago, Wood Butcher said:

If it was really going to be worth 20,000 - 35,000, do you think they would want to sell it for 4,000? :lol:

Well possibly, it's a tricky market and could take years to sell a violin of thus nature. If he's selling for 4k and it costs another 4k to fully restore and I manage independent to sell at 15k it appears reasonable. 

Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Chai said:

Well possibly, it's a tricky market and could take years to sell a violin of thus nature. If he's selling for 4k and it costs another 4k to fully restore and I manage independent to sell at 15k it appears reasonable. 

With an anual inflation rate of 10% you could have reached that point within 20 years or so.

Edited by Blank face
Wrong calculator
Posted

Loveri was a firm producing mandolins, it’s well possible that they ordered Mittenwald violins, maybe applied their own varnish.

A closer look at the inside work could give a clue.

Posted
13 hours ago, billschettler said:

The bridge inserts and lower saddle show that this was in a Mills Violano mechanical violin. It is a player piano with a mechanical violin assembly bolted to the violin. 

 

This sort of mechanic would require a completely different fingerboard (resp. no board), so it's very unlikely that the OP violin was part of such a machine.

And yes, the I & H example is the only one to find online, but there's also no prove that it's a genuine one. As long as this is possible to say about violins which were sold by a dealing company and could have been supplied by different sources.

Posted
33 minutes ago, jacobsaunders said:

Why bother?

Well if they have had an instrument from that maker in the past then they can probably clarify the situation pretty quickly for the OP. We can probably know the answer already, but if they wanted further clarification.

Posted
3 minutes ago, Shelbow said:

Well if they have had an instrument from that maker in the past then they can probably clarify the situation pretty quickly for the OP. We can probably know the answer already, but if they wanted further clarification.

They will have seen plenty of Mittenwald Verlger violins, I suppose that's true

Posted
3 minutes ago, jacobsaunders said:

They will have seen plenty of Mittenwald Verlger violins, I suppose that's true

:D yes the truth will come out swiftly.

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