How can i find out if a Joseph Guarnerius violin is original or not?

Question

Hello

I found a violin in my parents attic and i am curios about it's value. I read on the internet that a genuine violin like this can value quite a lot.

Can you help me with an answer?

Answer 1

There are thousands upon thousands of cheap factory-made violins, going back over a hundred years, containing labels with famous names like Guarnerius and Stradivarius in them. Most are not serious attempts at fakery so much as attempts to cast some reflected glory on a product by suggesting it's inspired by or copied from a famous maker. In other words, they are not to be taken seriously. The "Stradivarius in the attic" question is a very common one from people who are unaware of this. My parents had a collection of old Etude magazines from the 1920's, and in the letters to the editor somebody would think they'd found a "Strad" in the attic practically every month! No, it's not real, or at least the chances are vanishingly small.

Answer 2

Not a chance. To add what jcr said, my local library had really old editions of Etude magazine in the gift shop so I have read a few of those articles. However, you CAN find anything online:

http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1901/07/an-interesting-violin.html

http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1902/10/stradsvintage-of-1716.html

http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1910/08/the-london-violin-market.html (also has results of a violin auction--you need to adjust prices for inflation and the writer also mentions that some of the violins may not have been genuine or in very good condition.

http://etudemagazine.com/etude/1900/03/old-violin.html



Besides, even in your parents' or grandparents' time, a genuine Guareri violin would be worth a fortune. Unless one of your relatives was a successful (and wealthy) professional violinist, it is highly unlikely they would have owned such an instrument. And if they did, it would have never been thrown up in the attic and left to whatever atmospheric conditions exist in people's dusty attics.



Here are articles on how to spot fake labels (but violins that are deliberately made to deceive may have more convincing details):

http://www.skinnerinc.com/news/blog/violin-appraiser-how-to-identify-violin-label/

http://myviolin.co.uk/violin-labels.html

Answer 3

According to one website (whose reliability I don't know how to assess), this is almost certainly a fake -- the label, at least. This particular member of the family never labeled his violins with "Cremonae" spelled that way; and all the labels depicted on this website have the religious monogram "IHS" at the right hand side of the label. http://www.guarnieri.com/labels4.htm



So, if the guy who compiled that website is correct, this is a fake. At least the label is.

Answer 4

I'm pretty sure it's a copy.

All real ones have the third and fourth figure of the year written in the same size as the '17'.



Also, the label itself looks cheap and mass-manufactured.



Millions of violins were made as copies of those made by Guarneri, Stradivari, Amati, etc.

They all have 'fake' labels inside them!