Cello Guarneri “filius Andreae” 1701

Cello Giuseppe Guarneri “filius Andreae” 1701

The original varnish on this instrument is almost intact; the varnish shows just a slight crack and a red-gold shade of color (starting from that moment the luthier abandoned the reddish-brown shade of color for the varnish and he started coloring the instruments with red varnish). Under the varnish, it is possible to see the marks the luthier left during the making process and he did not cancel, such as the marks left by the toothed plane he used to make the ribs have a certain thickness, or the marks on the back, perpendicular to the purfiling, he left using the scraper. We can see also marks of the scraper used in the removal of the inside wood in the top and the back, that proves Guarneri was very spontaneous in his work. The scroll seems to be entirely carved using a gouge, we don’t see any marks of scraper or any other abrasive intstrument.

The cello, that belongs to the firm Beare Violins Ltd., is now exhibited in the Museo del Violino, Cremona, as a loan to the museum within the “friends of Stradivari” project.