Antonio Gibertini- London Trade Violin- Germany circa 1929 – SOLD AUGUST 27, 2024 –

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Antonio Gibertini worked in Parma and Genoa, Italy from 1797-1850. He was said to be a fine maker and favored by Paganini. As a copyist he was quite skillful. This is not one of his violins, just labeled as such. Our violin is a trade violin but not made in a factory; it was made by an individual maker. We meticulously went over the entire violin and took time on the fingerboard, restored the wing split cleat, bushed the peg box system, and completed the violin in English Boxwood fittings. This violin was most likely made in a German workshop pre-WW I and sold at a later date in London with the added label. Many English shops imported instruments to meet the high demand of players, especially between 1870-1918. The violin has a gorgeous one-piece highly flamed back with matching ribs, neck, and scroll in degree of flame. It has two brands of a five-point king’s crown: inside the violin and on the back plate just above the bottom block. The back of the scroll also has a carved star hole, possibly used by a priest to process in with during a liturgical mass. The violin has many attributes that show me older hand work. The arching is of medium height, the purfling is hand cut, the f holes are the maker’s own personal style, the corners are slightly shorter, and the violin does not have a graft. It is a beautiful violin in a light golden amber brown oil varnish with a touch of orange all on a yellow ground.

Corpus 354.5 mm., Major Width 201.0 mm., Minor Width 164.0 mm. Rib Height 29.5-30.0 mm.

The sound of this instrument is wonderful. The sound is not strident nor bright but has a mature depth to the tone. The sound is lush and wholeheartedly golden. The violin is not bright in its makeup and lacks nothing tonally. The violin plays with ease and is very responsive. I totally got into the gorgeous sound when I laid into the strings with a little weight in my playing. Wow – what a tone. This instrument is just different from a very new modern violin. The treble side is so sweet and adds color to the overall sound. Mature sound, resonant, easy to play, and creates a lush sound. A gifted maker created this violin. The craftsmanship is way above average on this early 20th century violin. There is no known exact maker, but if it had reference to a maker as in being labeled or branded this violin would be priced much higher.