Violin
Maker
Carl Christian Meisel
Date1823
Place MadeUnterklingenthal, Saxony, Germany, Europe
Place MadeKlingenthal, Saxony, Germany, Europe
SignedPrinted on paper label with geometric border, the year written in black ink: Carl Chriſtian Meiſel / Violin = und Inſtrumentenmacher / in Unterklingenthal 1823MarkingsWritten in black ballpoint pen on inside of back, lower bass bout, to be read through treble f-hole (by Kurt Oswald Meisel): DIESE GEIGE WURDE 1970 / IN EINEM AUTO-UNFALL/ BERTRÜMMERT
Bridge stamped on one face: K. L. MEISEL; stamped on other face: OWATONNA/MINN.
DescriptionCarl Christian Meisel (1790-1876)
Inscription on inside of back (written by Kurt Oswald Meisel, who repaired the violin) translates to "This violin was shattered in an auto accident in 1970. "
According to Lothar Meisel (7/7/03), Kurt Oswald Meisel brought this instrument back from Europe as pieces in a paper bag, and he repaired it in the 1970s. The darker lower treble wing is due to unstable pigments that K. O. Meisel used when finishing the repair. The color matched when it was applied.
Top: two-piece, quarter-cut spruce: fine grain; lower treble wing replaced
Back: one-piece, quarter-cut maple: very narrow curl ascending slightly from treble to bass; small-diameter dowels through back into top and bottom blocks
Ribs: quarter-cut maple: narrow curl, at slightly varying angles on each rib
Head: maple: faint, narrow curl; inside of pegbox stained brown-red
Neck: grafted; maple: faint, medium curl
Varnish: light orange-brown with slight craquelure; faded on top; lower treble wing, medium brown
Fingerboard: ebony
Nut: ebony
Tailpiece: ebony; raised copper-alloy lyre attached to surface
Tailgut: black plastic
Pegs: ebony; raised brass lozenges on ends of heads
Saddle: ebony
Endpin: ebony; mother-of-pearl eye surrounded by brass ring
F-holes: inside edges stained brown-red
Linings: spruce
Corner blocks: spruce
DimensionsTotal violin length: 589 mm
Back length: 354 mm
Upper bout width: 163 mm
Center bout width: 107 mm
Lower bout width: 204 mm
Upper rib height: 28-30 mm
Center rib height: 27-30 mm
Lower rib height: 27-28 mm
Stop length: 192 mm
Vibrating string length: 327 mm
Neck length (bottom of nut to ribs): 137 mm
Published ReferencesProd. Julie Kucaj. “Lothar Meisel,” Arts & Minds. Bravo! News Style Arts Channel, Toronto, 30-31 Jan. 2003.
K. Lothar Meisel with Betty Vos. The Meisel Family Violin Makers: Klingenthal, Vogtland, Saxony (Ely, Minnesota: Singing River Publications, Inc., 2007), pp. 80-83.
Credit LineGift of Kurt Lothar and Patricia A. Meisel, 1997
Object number06054
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