Connoisseurship: A Violin Expert's Show and Tell

Connoisseurship refers to esoteric knowledge used to judge a range of elements from quality to authenticity, where it is often difficult to provide straightforward objective data to support a conclusion. In the case of the market for antique violins, what we can see with our eyes often comprises sculptural elements that can sometimes only be described in seemingly vague and subjective terms. Therefore in the important world of authenticity it may be the reputation of the expert’s intuitive opinion rather than a detailed scientifically- minded analysis that determines the reliability of an attribution, something that sits uncomfortably within an academic framework. The violin (family) proves a particularly difficult area for connoisseurship because ostensibly the same design has been standard for over 450 years and for much of this time the craft of instrument-making has relied on making very precise copies of celebrated instruments rather than craftsmen applying original designs and ideas.

Part of the talk will be a kind of show and tell with a variety of instruments and tools on hand for comparison, in particular a violin made for Catherine de Medici's musicians at the French court of Charles IX in 1572 and two instruments ostensibly from the English court of Charles I for discussion.