Name of Instrument: violin

Maker / Brand:

Stearns Catalog #: 1276

Country of Origin: France

Region of Origin: Europe

Instrument Category: Chordophone

Date of Fabrication: mid-19th C.

Location: CHO D RB 1

Description: This Violin has a falsified label that reads, “Giovan Paolo Maggini, fecit in Brescia, 1608.” This instrument was obviously not made by Maggini—first of all, the condition of the instrument does not suggest 370 years of age. Secondly, there is no neck graft. Thirdly, there is evidence of intentional distressing of the instrument at each of the table’s corners. There is an inlay of a medieval chateau featured on the back of the instrument that is reportedly the Chateau de Chenouceau near Tours, owned at one time by one Duplin, Farmer-General. The spruce table of this likely Mirecourt model is not as long as those made by Maggini, but it is graceful and well-made. It has four ebony pegs and a carved scroll featuring a bearded, bald man.

Research: Dr. Bruce Mitchell Smith and William Monical