The Rosenberg Collection Part IV

Two more unusual and beguiling violins in this extraordinary collection are attributed to Andrea Gisalberti and Antonio Mariani. Gisalberti of Parma is another rare maker, whose rustic and inconsistent style led to suggestions by early twentieth century writers that he may have been the teacher of Guarneri ‘del Gesù’. Of course, there is nothing in the idea at all, but it is still valuable to see the work of the only maker practicing in Parma, as far as is known, before the arrival there in 1758 of Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.

The violin attributed to Mariani of Pesaro in the mid-to-late seventeenth century is a treat. The almost comically crude scroll is quite arresting, and the generally crude appearance of Mariani’s labelled work, and occasional extravagant double-purfled instruments, provoked more unfounded speculation in the past, in this case about a connection to Gaspar da Salò or Maggini in Brescia. What is interesting here are the soundholes, which it has to be said are cut in the Brescian manner, with a bevel on the inner surface, but in form they relate very closely to sixteenth-century Venetian instruments by Linarol and Giovanni Maria. The Mariani family remain somehow an out-of-joint enigma in the story of Italian violin making.

Finally, the presence of several remarkable English instruments is well worth attention, surely having particular meaning to the Liverpool-born Rosenberg. A very rare violin by Jacob Rayman, the earliest recorded maker in England, adds a great deal to what can be understood of his work. There are precious few intact survivors, and this violin has a replacement scroll possibly made by Jacob Fendt. Nevertheless, the strongly primitive appearance of the violin, with its outward pointing corners and Andrea Amati derived soundholes represents the first stirring of the English school. There is also a fine violin by Benjamin Banks, but perhaps the most attractive of this group of English work is an outstanding John Lott violin, a slightly unusual and very neatly executed copy of a Nicolò Amati. Lott is justly celebrated for his convincing imitations of Stradivari and del Gesù, but this relatively restrained example shows the subtlety of his skill as a copyist.

Part I – Cremona, Part II – Milan, Part III – Venice

Explore the highlights of the Rosenberg Collection here