certificates of authenticity
My expertise is highly respected especially for British instruments and bows, and over the years colleagues from around the world have relied upon me for advice and expertise in this area. Where it is appropriate I am able to certify instruments of other nationalities or provide supporting letters to reinforce unfamiliar or dated opinions. As a matter of policy it is essential that I am able to research each instrument in person before coming to an opinion. However, I am happy to receive photographs and discuss possibilities of certification before arranging a visit. Please contact me for further information.
The first stage in any assessment is to consider whether I am comfortable to provide an opinion on an instrument. Many instruments will be better served by a different specialist and I am always happy to discuss prospects where I cannot be of direct assistance. Please bear in mind that there are some surprisingly fine instruments that may evade any form of identification, and some instruments may require an extended period of investigation.
SUPPORTING LETTERS
Sometimes a perfectly good certificate exists from a different authority, either an expert in an obscure field, or an old certificate where there is a possibility that modern opinion has shifted. Rather than writing a new certificate, it is sometimes more elegant to produce a letter offering updated support to a certificate that already exists. To do this it is necessary to see both the original certificate and the instrument.
CERTIFiCATES FOR BOWS
I am happy to consider British bows for certification.
From the late eighteenth-century British bow-making was dominated by a few interconnected family-orientated workshops, chiefly Dodd, Brown, Panormo, Tubbs, and from the 1880s the firm of W. E. Hill & Sons. Reliable and accurate attributions for British bows may only extend to a date range and the workshop in which they were produced. All bows are considered on a case-by-case basis.
My APPROACH
In the distant past it was important to verbally describe the violin as a part of the certificate for the simple reason that if the photographs were substituted to represent a different instrument, they would be contradicted by the description. My certificates use adhesives that will destroy the certificate if any attempt is made to tamper with it. Given the nature of many of the instruments that I certify, it is more helpful us this space for a more narrative