Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1709, the 'Markevitch, Delfino'
Cello: 41288
Labeled, "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis, faciebat anno 1709."
The initials "S.M." inscribed adjacent to the bass sound-hole.
Read Jason Price's Carteggio feature on this cello.
Back: in two pieces of quarter cut maple with narrow-width flame descending slightly from the center seam.
Top: in two pieces of spruce with medium-width grain broadening toward the edges.
Scroll: of slightly plainer maple.
Ribs: of similar wood.
Varnish: of a red orange-brown color.
Length of back: 75.6 cm
Upper bouts: 33.2 cm
Middle bouts: 21.8 cm
Lower bouts: 42.75 cm
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Notes:
Count cozio's Notes, June 5, 1816: "Measurements of the cello made by Antonio Stradivari in 1709, and owned by Professor Alessandro Delfini, called Brescianino. . . ." (p. 244)Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Baltimore
Count Cozio notes on 5 June 1816: The [front plate] measurements of the 1709 Antonio Stradivari cello of Signor Prof. Alessandro Delfini [Delfino] (who is known as ‘Brescianino’) [...] are made using the Piede di Parigi and are taken ‘over the arching’ [preso sulle curve]: Upper Bout maximum width, including the borders: piedi 1, pollici 0, ponti 92/3 Centre Bout minimum width, including the borders: piedi 0, pollici 8, ponti 81⁄2 Lower Bout maximum width, including the borders: piedi 1, pollici 4, ponti 32/3 Total length of the front plate, including the borders: piede 2, pollici 4, ponti 11⁄2 = 346.6mm = 235.7mm = 441.2mm = 761.1mm
'In 1863 he received a Stradivari instrument from his great uncle, Andrei Gudovitch, who had acquired it in 1822 by trading a superb open carriage with four jet-black horses, as well as two bondsmen, a coachman, a footman and all their families.'
Mastering Bach, Dennis Rooney, The Strad, April, 1999, London
Provenance
| until c. 1820 | Count Alessandro Delfino |
| 1822-1863 | Count Andrei Gudovich |
| ... | ... |
| from 1863 and in 1902 | Senator Andrei Nicolas Markevitch |
| until 1915 | Boris Markevitch |
| 1915-1916 | Caressa & Français |
| from 1916 | M. Rateau |
| in 1933 | Jean Louis Courvoisier |
| in 1933 | Sold by Caressa & Français |
| until 1938 | Grace L. Broadbent |
| from 1938 | Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. |
| in 1959 | Clarence Henry Dragert |
| 1962-1972 | Dmitry Markevitch |
| from 1972 | Dr David Josefowitz |
| until 2022 | Fridart Stichting |
| in 2022 | Sold by Tarisio Private Sales |
| from 2022 | Current owner |
Known players
Dmitry Markevitch, Lev Aronson, Oleg Kogan
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: Tarisio, Berlin (2022)- Dendrochronology report: John C. Topham, Surrey (2000) Dating the youngest tree ring to 1698.
- Letter certificate: W. E. Hill & Sons (photocopy), London (1938)
- Letter certificate: Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. (photocopy), New York, NY (1938)
Certificate: Tarisio, Berlin (2022)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
- The Violin Times, July, 1898, edited by E. Polanski, London
Antonio Stradivari - Catalogue of the 2008 Exhibit in Montpelier, Peter Biddulph, Frédéric Chaudière & John Dilworth, Musée Fabre / Actes Sud, Montpelier (illustrated)- Antonio Stradivari: His Life & Work (1644-1737), W. Henry, Arthur F. & Alfred E. Hill, William E. Hill & Sons, London, 1902
- Italian Violin Makers (1964), Karel Jalovec, Paul Hamlyn, London, 1964
- Italienische Geigenbauer (1957), Karel Jalovec, Artia, Prague, 1957 (illustrated)
- The Strad, March, 1996, David Rattray, Orpheus, London (illustrated)
- Mastering Bach, April 1999
- Masterpieces of Italian Violin Making, David Rattray, Outline Press, London (illustrated)
- Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Brandon Frazier, Baltimore
- Museum & Collections - What’s on - Royal Academy of Music
- Private Archives - 10072
- Private Archives - 10842
- Rare Cello Brought Here by Aronson, May 31, 1959
- Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)
- Young guns
Antonio Stradivari - Catalogue of the 2008 Exhibit in Montpelier, Peter Biddulph, Frédéric Chaudière & John Dilworth, Musée Fabre / Actes Sud, Montpelier (illustrated)
