Carlo Bergonzi I, Cremona, 1733, the 'Tschudi, Martzy, Salabue, Tarisio'


Violin: 40685

Labeled, "Anno 1733 Carlo Bergonzi fece in Cremona."

Read Jason Price's Carteggio feature on this violin.

Back: in one piece of quarter cut maple with broad-width flame ascending from the treble side.

Top: in two pieces of spruce with narrow-width grain broadening toward the egdes.

Scroll: of plainer maple.

Ribs: of similar wood.

Varnish: of a red orange-brown color.

Length of back: 35.3 cm

Upper bouts: 16.7 cm

Middle bouts: 10.7 cm

Lower bouts: 20.5 cm

There are 11 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.


Notes:

"In the illustrated booklet he lovingly published on the Bergonzi in 1942 (150 numbered copies), Daniel states that it was ’acknowledged as the finest example known’. Indeed it was one of the famed Luigi Tarisio’s six favorite violins, bought by Vuillaume in 1854."

Cubic Circle home page


Count Cozio's notes, June 1801: "Description: one-piece back, wide and even grain. The sides are also made of the same wood. Reinforced button that is two-thirds of a circle. The neck is of good work. The scroll is well carved on the front and fluted in the back, but it is pushed backwards too much so that it seems deformed. It is worth noting that both this and the other instruments have a longer neck than compared to Stradivari's. The sides are also higher near the neck and in back. This differs from the style of Stradivari and Amati. The neck is too raised and a little difficult to play. The scroll shape is defective. [. . .] transparent oil red varnish, like Stradivari's. [. . .] . Neck and pegs are still in the old style, and the neck is longer than in Stradivari's. Large model with well made F-holes in Stradivari's style, but not fluted in the lower part. Good craftsmanship, except for the four corners which are too sharp and have edges. Low arching. The sides have little curve near the neck and back. This is one of the best instruments by this maker. It is worth at least 36 zecchini. On June 1801,1 asked Mantegazza to raise the neck, to take out some linings that have worm holes and put in a new veneered fingerboard. I have also asked to take away some of the deformities of the risvolto at the bottom." (p. 216)

Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Baltimore


Cozio's Notes, May 30, 1816: "Measurements of my largest and best violin made by Carlo Bergonzi in 1733, to which I made the four long curves smoother. Measurements taken by the compass including the outline, as above. Purfling is quite thin. One-piece back. Beautiful grain. The strongest that I have owned and that I have ever heard. The black line of purfling should be in paper. . . ." (p. 240)

Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Baltimore

Provenance

until 1776 Giovanni Battista Cabrinetti
1776-1840 Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue
1840-1841 Countess Matilde Cozio di Salabue
1841-1854 Luigi Tarisio
from 1855 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
from c. 1860 Hugo Wehrle
until c. 1904 Julius Schloming
in 1904 Carl Hermann Voigt
... ...
from 1904 and in 1920 Baron Alfred von Liebig
... ...
in c. 1935 Sold by Albert Caressa
until 1936 Hug & Co.
... ...
from 1936 and in 1949 Daniel Tschudi
until 1979 Johanna Martzy
in c. 1979 Sabina Tschudi
in c. 1979 Sold by Pierre Gerber
c. 1979-c. 1992 Swiss Foundation
in 1992 Sold by John & Arthur Beare
1992-2011 Anonymous
in 2011 Sold by John & Arthur Beare
2011-2022 Anonymous
in 2022 Sold by Tarisio Private Sales
from 2022 Current owner

Known players

Johanna Martzy, Julius Schloming

Certificates & Documents

  • Certificate: Tarisio, New York, NY (2022)
  • Dendrochronology report: Peter Ratcliff, London (2022) Dates the latest ring of the bass and treble side as 1721 and 1720, respectively. Printed report available for purchase upon request.
  • Certificate: John & Arthur Beare, London (2011)
  • Certificate: Hug & Co., Zurich (1936)

Cozio holds copies of many certificates and other documents, some of which are available to view on request. Please contact us if you wish to view a particular document. (Note that we do not always have permission to share documents.)

References

  • Antonius Stradivarius (Balfoort), Dirk J. Balfoort, The Continental Book Company, Stockholm (illustrated)
  • Carlo Bergonzi of Cremona - Part VI
  • Carlo Bergonzi Violin 1733, Eric Blot, Eric Blot Edizioni, Cremona (illustrated)
  • Carlo Bergonzi: A Cremonese Master Unveiled (supplement to The Strad, June, 2010), Christopher Reuning, editor, Consorzio Liutai Antonio Stradivari, Cremona (illustrated)
  • Cubic Circle home page
  • Meister Italienischer Geigenbaukunst (8th Edition), Hamma & Co., Florian Noetzel Verlag, Wilhelmshaven (illustrated)
  • Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Brandon Frazier, Baltimore
  • Violins & Violinists (1969), Franz Farga, Frederick A Prager, New York (illustrated)
  • W. E. Hill & Sons Photographic Archive (illustrated)

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