Giuseppe Ceruti

Giuseppe Ceruti was the only son and successor of Giovanni Battista Ceruti. His family moved to Cremona soon after he was born, and he was working for his father by 1805. His career as a violin maker was a little unpredictable, and over the next decade or so he was registered alternately as a ‘wood turner’ and as an instrument maker. In 1817, at the age of 32, he inherited his father’s workshop, but the years after his father’s death were a quiet period in the violin trade, and Giuseppe also worked as a professional double bass player in order to make ends meet. During the 1830s and 1840s he does not appear to have been regularly involved in instrument making, although in 1855 he submitted two violins to the World Exhibition in Paris and received an Honourable Mention.

Giuseppe’s instruments are extremely rare, and the violin circa 1820 featured here is possibly the only example ever to be sold at auction. His style shows a clear debt to his father, and, as is often the case with his instruments, this one bears the label of Giovanni Battista.