Its seems like I get an enquiry about a Stradivarius brand violin every other week and indeed I generally have a few for sale in my workshop at anyone time. I am fortunate to have played a genuine Strad once when I was younger!
Stradivarius is probably the worlds most celebrated violin maker , with his violins commanding millions every time you see them at an auction. Thats a huge incentive for any would be art forger to have a go and label and instrument reproductions – where even a modest percentage of that is likely to yield a huge payday from an unsuspecting buyer!
However as almost every Stradivarius he made is accounted for, so whatever the label inside the violin says it is almost certainly not a Stradivarius made by Stradivarius. A genuine ’Strad’ will have a long history of provenance (buying and selling) and a certificate of authenticity from a recognised expert. It is suspected that ther are more authenticated Strads than he made, owing to the skills of reproduction makers and artists.
Here is a list of known Stradivarius violins
Period Stradivarius Brand Violins
So what about Stradivarius Brand Violins that you see in the wild? The Stradivarius shaped violin is probably the most popular shape/style in the world today (others being Amati, Guarneri, Maggini and others), arguably if you are making a stradavarius shaped violin you can denote that on the label with ‘hand on heart’ integrity. Its recognisable and if you are a maker its a way to convince some that its a good violin too. This indeed was the common practice in the late 1800s early 1900 when violin making exploded across Europe in small workshops particularly in the German and Czech regions. So violins made in this period are today old and the labels in them look old, and if you are retrieving this from grandma’s cupboard it might be easy to confuse it with an actual Strad.
On many labels you might see something like Copie De Stradivarius, or made in Germany or made in Czech Republic etc… from amongst the more scrupulous makers. Others made have made an old style label to go in their violins and antique the instrument further, even going as far as to add fake repairs, neck grafts etc.. which can make it very difficult to reliably tell when it was made. Some have even gone so far as to buy an old book, wash the ink out of the paper and make a label that can fool carbon dating….
New Stradivarius brand Violins
Many of todays makers do reproductions of the different models of Stradivarius violns and brand them according to the particular violin copied. This extends to the shape, but also the timber selection and varnishing which varied a lot between. Here are a few of the them that I like to have a few of from a local distributor under the brand Raggetti Master Series (from the workshop of Peter Guan)
1714 Strad Soil 1714 , Lady Stretton, Lord Wilton 1742, Cremonese 1713
Stradivarius Raggetti Master Violin copies with distinctive timbers, varnishing and antiquing
Inspection of a violin by a skilled luthier can often determine more about the violin through investigating how it was made, varnishes used etc (see how much is my violin worth), some of the Stradivarius branded violins can be quite good…just be sure not to confuse them with the real thing.