Too right, you'd want to play it! The photos look slightly worrying to me, but with the caveats that I'm not an expert and photos on the net may not be the best. But, to me, it looks like it's been played with the bridge in the wrong place for a while, and with a really bad tailpiece, which someone has screwed the adjustors all the way down on so that they have damaged the wood of the belly underneath.
The various cracks and smashes are to be expected in a violin of that age but ... am I the only one to worry about the look of the repairs to those on the right hand side of the instrument - the ones that *don't* have a helpful enlarged photo?
The body looks oddly elongated; can't tell if the photo is distorted or
the fiddle has a weird shape. If it's the latter, then the fiddle depicted
in the big photo doesn't seem to be the same one.
Castagneri Violin
Castagneri Violin
Have you ever heard of these violins? Someone here in NZ is selling quite a pricey violin apparently dating from the 1740s.
I don't have the cash to splurge, but it sounds nice...
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instruments/Instruments/String/auction-169643547.htm
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: Castagneri Violin
On an internet site? For that price you'd what to play it first!
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by bb
Re: Castagneri Violin
Too right, you'd want to play it! The photos look slightly worrying to me, but with the caveats that I'm not an expert and photos on the net may not be the best. But, to me, it looks like it's been played with the bridge in the wrong place for a while, and with a really bad tailpiece, which someone has screwed the adjustors all the way down on so that they have damaged the wood of the belly underneath.
The various cracks and smashes are to be expected in a violin of that age but ... am I the only one to worry about the look of the repairs to those on the right hand side of the instrument - the ones that *don't* have a helpful enlarged photo?
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by benhall.1
Re: Castagneri Violin
No no, I'd never splurge anything like that sort of money without having an expert advise me AND being satisfied that I actually REALLY liked it.
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: Castagneri Violin
Ha ha - one of those $50 specials
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Hup
Re: Castagneri Violin
The body looks oddly elongated; can't tell if the photo is distorted or
the fiddle has a weird shape. If it's the latter, then the fiddle depicted
in the big photo doesn't seem to be the same one.
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Hup
Re: Castagneri Violin
For what it's worth, here are auction records from 2001.
CASTAGNERI, ANDREA [SK5/415] Italian Violin: Paris, 1749 (R. & M. Millant, Paris, October 4, 1931) 12,000/16,000 NS
CASTAGNERI, ANDREA [C5/94] French Violin w/case: Paris, 1732 3,000/5,000
$2,350 £1,636 DM5,143 ¥284,468
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by leoj
Re: Castagneri Violin
This violin is in terrible condition. In the antique market, condition is everything. Save your money.
# Posted on August 14th 2008 by Mandolynist