Valenzano Giovanni Maria, viola, Vercelli 1791
Giovanni Maria Valenzano was a violin maker from Asti in Piedmont, according to Count Cozio di Salabue. From the literature, we find that he may have worked in Valenza, Barcelona, Montpellier, Marseille, Nice, Genoa, Rome, Trieste. Making him the luthier that travelled the most in history. This viola, subject of our research, bears an original label from 1791 stating that it was made in Vercelli, also in Piedmont, making it the first known instrument from this maker. One of the peculiarity of this 1791 Giovanni Maria Valenzano viola is that the maker used, as reinforcement around the FF holes, a playing card showing the king of clovers. The card is from an original deck of french cards from the period, as confirmed by the German Playing Card Museum (Deutsches Spielkartenmuseum). This instrument is subject of a study and is currently not for sale.
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Valenzano Giovanni Maria, viola, Vercelli 1791
Giovanni Maria Valenzano was a violin maker from Asti in Piedmont, according to Count Cozio di Salabue. From the literature, we find that he may have worked in Valenza, Barcelona, Montpellier, Marseille, Nice, Genoa, Rome, Trieste. Making him the luthier that travelled the most in history. This viola, subject of our research, bears an original label from 1791 stating that it was made in Vercelli, also in Piedmont, making it the first known instrument from this maker. One of the peculiarity of this 1791 Giovanni Maria Valenzano viola is that the maker used, as reinforcement around the FF holes, a playing card showing the king of clovers. The card is from an original deck of french cards from the period, as confirmed by the German Playing Card Museum (Deutsches Spielkartenmuseum). This instrument is subject of a study and is currently not for sale.
