Claude Pierray

Violin maker
(ﬂ. 1700 – 1729)

Claude Pierray was one of the most important violin makers of the early 18th-century Paris school and a leading representative of the group now often referred to as the *vieux Paris* makers. He worked in Paris during the first decades of the century and was established in the rue des Fossés Saint-Germain-des-Prés, close to the Comédie Française.

Pierray worked principally from Italian ...Read More models, particularly those of the Amati family, although his instruments are interpretations rather than close copies. His violins are often relatively broad in model, with medium to high arching and characteristically upright soundholes. The workmanship is generally careful and accomplished, though at times robust, and his varnish ranges from golden-yellow and orange-brown to attractive shades of red.

He produced both violins and cellos in considerable numbers, and his cellos in particular have long been highly regarded. Pierray's instruments enjoyed an early reputation outside France as well: the English musical promoter and collector Thomas Britton owned a violin by him which he reportedly considered comparable to a Cremonese instrument. A bass viol dated 1712 is preserved in the Musée de la Musique in Paris, which also holds other examples of his work.

Together with his contemporary Jacques Boquay, Pierray helped establish an identifiable Parisian school of violin making based on Italian principles. His work is generally considered the more refined of the two and provided an important foundation for the development of French violin making later in the 18th century. Read Less

Price History

- The auction record for this maker is $68,189 in Jun 2005, for a cello.
- 65 auction price results.

View all auction prices for Claude Pierray

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