Posted 10 years ago
theantique…
(33 items)
I was picking in a old barn in Pennsylvania when this violin was in the bottom of a antique chest ..so i bought them both..i see stradavarius name on the inside along with mira andrea koch made in germany and i believe a goat symbol .can anyone else shed some light on this very well maintained violin
The real thing would not have a country of origin or mention of a country. You don't need to do much research to know this is a reproduction. There were only 1100 of them made and 650 of them are accounted for and none bear other than the original mark, Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonenfis; Faciebat Anno 17 the 17 would be hand written to indicate the last two digits of the year it was made. The fact that this says, "made in Germany" means it was made after the McKinley Tariff act.
You will be better served researching mira andrea koch.
i tried but cant seem to find it
antiqueking, if you have a local symphony hall, you might contact them. Or google your local musicians, violinists would know about this instrument, I would think. As a last measure, one of your local museums might have someone on staff who might be willing to help. That's if you want to have someone actually look at it. Virtually, you could probably find a forum for antique instruments and post photos. By the way, I've seen Strad repros on TV shows, the values aren't shabby.
You might also consider that Stradivarius lived his entire life in Italy and never had a connection to Germany. You can find this instrument on sites that are non English and the translation isn't great. I found one for sale but don't read Spanish, figured out to around $750
Find a reputable shop in your area and take it to them ...better yet, take it to a few shops. If you can find a shop that specializes in only string instruments - that is ideal. To get a true opinion on your instrument you need to put in the hands of someone who has seen a lot of violins. If the violin has an impressive pedigree that is one thing, however... if it makes a beautiful tone and is reparable/salvageable as a working musical instrument, these are the factors that are more important and ultimately contribute to its monetary value. Good luck and keep us posted.
Nice and in good condition too! Probably made by Andreas Koch, Trossingen, Germany, 1920-30's. They produced other instruments named "Mira", e.g. harmonicas and accordions. To name a model Stradivarius though is quite common for violin makers and other instrument makers. The Vincent Bach Stradivarius trumpet for instance is well known.
I wouldn't call this a reproduction or fake, this is a legit violin maker. The sticker even says "Model Antique Stradivarius" just meaning the shape is that of a Stradivarius.
Sorry, I meant "Model Ant(onius) Stradivarius" of course. They also produced other models e.g. "Model Maggini".
Here's an indication of the value, (maybe out of the scope for C.W. but just out of curiosity): http://www.bromptons.co/reference/results/details/violin-by-andreas-koch-1920-c.html
Thanks guys for all your valuable info its always appreciated
OlofZ, in my reply I didn't mean in any way to imply that this was a fake, just that it was a reproduction and not an original. As I also said, I've seen these on TV shows and knew they were valuable instruments. I'd love to own one out of the sheer beauty of the thing, even though I can't play it. It was a very nice find. :)