Description
A good French violin by Nicolas Caussin, Neuchatel, circa 1860, modelled loosely after the brothers Amati.
The Caussin family emerged in Paris in the middle of the nineteenth century, producing high quality antiqued imitations of older instruments and going against the prevailing trends of French and particularly Parisian lutherie in their choices of instruments for their inspiration. True ‘copies’ are rare, and they worked around loose concepts with an interest in producing instruments with the appearance of age, rather than detailed interpretations intended to deceive. Nevertheless, as their instruments have aged, some have caused problems, and cellos in particular can prove misleading at first glance. As the century progressed they moved their operations to Neufchâtel in Les Vosges, not terribly far from Mirecourt, and became increasingly economical with the instruments that they made – perhaps looking more to gaps in the market that they could exploit – rather than maintaining a consistent standard. At their best, their antiquing style was sufficiently valued that makers such as the celebrated Claude Augustin Miremont collaborated, producing violins that they would varnish and antique. Towards 1900 the company was taken over by Jerome Thibouville-Lamy, and work transitions through that take over with a gradual lowering of quality dictated by market demand. Many of the better instruments remained in France, and the lower ranges seem to have been exported exclusively to England.
This is the second such example of Nicolas Caussin’s work which I have handled that superficially follows the narrow Amati form that was common in the middle of the seventeenth century, forming the basis for many later Northern Italian violins, this one pushing towards a brothers Amati model of the 1610-20 period, but the other example that I know of convinces me that Caussin had seen an early Stradivari violin – likely the 1666 Ex-Back, and had used that as the start-point of his inspiration. Although this violin has almost completely moved on from that concept, the enlarged scroll is very reminiscent of Stradivari’s early works and helps to confirm this idea. These are amongst the best of the Caussin output dating from around 1860. It is offered in very fresh and pure condition with the scratches and wear all as a result of the heavy antiquing so characteristic of all Caussin instruments. Of particular interest is the spotted wear pattern of the varnish on the back that shows an intimate awareness of the style of antiquing employed by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume at precisely this period.
Certificate: Available upon request
Condition notes: The violin is in very good condition.
CONTACT US
If you are interested in this instrument please email us here:
