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
There are 32 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
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)
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