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Below is a small selection of the many examples of labels which you should be extremely
cautious about when looking at violins ... if you own a violin with one
of the following labels it will almost certainly be a "fake" or copy, unless the
instrument possesses reputable and solid certification from a recognised connoisseur /
expert in the field of violin appraisal and evaluation who states that it is
genuine. Such certification is extremely rare but, always accompanies examples of
genuine work. The likelihood of finding an "undiscovered" masterpiece, by
one of these noted makers, is now virtually zero in the violin world ... very unlike
the art world.
For information about the individual makers whose labels appear below please follow the link at the bottom of this page to my "makers' biographies" page but, you must read the last paragraph of this page first as it will give you a more informed view.
The Italians:
Antonius Stradivari Nicolas & Hieronymmous Amati
Joseph Guarnerius (known as del Gesu) Gasparo ad Salo
Carlo Antonio Testore Dominicus Montagnana
Carlo Bergonzi Joannes Baptista Guadagnini
Francesco Ruggieri Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi
Joannes Franciscus Pressenda*
* (this one not commercially copied but, fake label often found inserted in violins of dubious origin)
The French:
(most copied makers are usually of the early nineteenth century)
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume Nicolas Lupot
The Germans:
Matthias Albani Sebastian Kloz
The labels illustrated above represent only a tiny fraction of those used by copyists and are often found in violins manufactured in the nineteenth century in Germany, France and Bohemia (Czechoslovakia). They were not made as fakes and were not particularly meant to deceive, but were made merely as copies in the general style of the originals whose copy labels they bear. Many of these copies are excellent instruments in their own right but there are more poor quality copies in existence than there are good ones. When new they were sold in general music shops throughout Europe and America ... sold as new instruments in the various styles of the old masters. Today (one hundred and fifty years later) these same instruments now look quite old and exhibit the normal wear and damage of prolonged use. This is where much confusion arises, as most people cannot differentiate between the genuine old violins of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and those copies of the nineteenth century.
follow this link to my "Makers' biographies" page or this link to my
"articles and links" page.