Most Violins Have Fake Identification Labels

Most Violins Have Fake Identification Labels. Why?

Antonius Stradivarius, Joseph Guarnerius, Nicolaus Amati, Jacobus Stainer. These names of celebrated violin makers, like others equally well known, have often been pasted inside bogus master instruments -- mass-produced violins of widely varied quality. Other times, the names as well as the instruments have been fakes. Violins have ended up with labels proclaiming the work of "Gustav August Ficker," "Andreas Hornsteiner," or "Karl Knilling" -- all, utterly fictional makers. Yet dealers have long been inflating prices by sticking so-called famous maker labels inside instruments. What’s the point? Bluntly, it’s to mislead and defraud the consumer.
The falsification of documents-i.e., the placement within instruments, of facsimile labels -- which are NOT identified as such -- is deception and fraud. The notorious Swiss "Violin War" of 1958 turned on just such an issue. It involved a court case against prominent dealer members of what came to be known as the international Violin Mafia (the term was coined by Germany's most influential news magazine, Der Spiegel). The article dealt with precisely this question of deception -- putting fake labels of prominent makers into instruments of questionable authenticity, thus "baptizing" them.
But is this ancient history? A matter of no relevance to the 1990's? Keep reading... and judge for yourself.

Today, the advertising of one prominent dealer boasts "beautifully crafted instruments by this well-known German maker." This alleged maker is ROMAN TELLER. (The real Roman Teller was a noted Geigenbaumeister or Master Violin Maker, who died on August 3, 1974.) The same dealer promises that his instruments are "selected for their authenticity," and he seemingly enhances their value by asserting that they come with a dated and signed "Certificate of Authenticity." What an attractive set-up! So have things changed since 1958? NOT REALLY! In this particular case, the violin with the ROMAN TELLER label -- if dated after 1974 -- may never have been seen -- much less made -- by the famous maker. Most probably, it is a fraud. Thus the buyer, believing that he is acquiring a literal masterpiece, goes home with a fake. Rather than possessing a potential heirloom, he's stuck with a fiddle that lacks even significant Cash or Fair Market Value.
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You can ask us about certificates of condition, certificates of authenticity, insurance appraisals. etc. A genuine Certificate of Authenticity will document the origin and originality of an instruments "essential original parts"--and this includes its label-and will, as well, attest to its physical integrity and condition. For assistance, please call us.

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