Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello,

A customer has an old violin that belonged to a German musician, and I suppose that the instrument is very valious, therefore i contact you. The violin is an Giuseppe Guarnieri del Gesu made in 1735. The violin have a label inside that you can see the descriptions. The descriptions are: Joseph Guarnerius Cremonensis faciebat anno 1735 I.H.S.

Perhaps you can help me and contact with an indicated person.

thanks a lot,

Best regards,

Emiliano.

Go here:

http://www.maestronet.com/

Nobody here is qualified to answer your question with authority; while it's unlikely that you have a genuine Guarnieri in your hands, if it should prove genuine, it needs to be in qualified hands, quickly.

If it is genuine, it could be worth millions. However, it was common practice and not considered unethical to copy famous violins, right down to the label. As the other post said, get it to a qualified person immediately.

What you have ins undoubtedly a copy, but it still could be a nice instrument. Take it to a violin shop in your area to have it's quality, condition, and rough value appraised. Guarneri violins have been copied probably more than any other, and though most you will find will be low to mid level student violins. Still, there are certainly a good many copies out there that are excellent instruments that can have values up to a few thousand dollars when repaired and set up.

So the chances of it being a genuine Guarneri are a little less than winning a million dollar lottery ticket three times in a row. Most of them found will be cheaper student instruments made in the early 20th century. Occasionally though, a good quality copy of 18th or 19th century origin can be found. So if it looks to be of decent quality, it never hurts to take it to a professional to have it looked at though. Just be sure to go in with no presumptions, as violin shops I'm sure get innumerable calls every week about the Strad or Guarneri found in the attic, and tire of it quite quickly.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Emiliano,

If you let us know roughly where you or the owner are located, perhaps someone here can refer you to trustworthy shop or appraiser nearby.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

My wife was a violinist with the LSO for 20 years, she has two copies of Guarneri violins and one Stad copy, all German from the 18th and 19th century, they are exceptionally good violins and have some value in their own right. In fact very many of the violinists in orchestras use them. Certainly get it checked out, but expect it to be a German copy.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I to have a Guarneri, made it myself back in 1983. It was the first acoustic instrument that I ever made. While looking for guitar wood, I ran across a local violin maker and got a little distracted. A worthy distraction though, wish I could play it, it still hangs in my shop.

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

My mother-in-law had a real Guarnieri that was a student violin. When she died the family had it repaired and sold at auction. We still have a peg. Bruce Sexauer from Petaluma, CA is a real Guarnieri fan.

_________________
Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Thank you all for your answers.

the violin belonged of the great-grand father of my customer.

If the violin is a genuine guarnerius. The question is:
Is convenient repair the violin, or is better conserve this as is? and what is the value if the violin in not genuine?

Im intrested in sell the violin.

Im from Argentina,

Thanks,

Emiliano.

Emiliano, if you need another one, let me know!!
(Seriously, if there is ANY reasonable expectation it is geniune, get it to a museum quality expert - it is too valuable a historical piece to do otherwise. If it is not geniune, it could be worth anything, based on its own merits.)

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON