Andrew Carruthers Offbeat Series: "Silver Leaf Fiddle", 2024, Not For Sale | Metzler Violins

Andrew Carruthers Offbeat Series: The Silver Leaf Fiddle (2024)
This is part of a quartet of Offbeat instruments we are proud to host from this luthier. 

This instrument is not for sale. Our collaboration foregoes traditional sales in lieu of pure inspiration. By loaning these instruments to like-minded artists, we hope they will become catalysts for creativity, connection, and exploration.
 If you see exciting possibilities here please reach out to us.  

About the Instrument
In an ongoing quest to achieve an appearance that is as visually rich as that of a genuine old violin, but without resorting to exact copying of those instruments, Andrew has been experimenting with blending finishing techniques used in other arts and crafts. The effect on this fiddle was accomplished by treating silver leaf with liver of sulfur, yielding vivid random patterns on the surface of the wood. The violin was then antiqued to unify its aesthetic, cultivating a visual richness that engages from any distance. 

Finish: Oil varnish and patinated silver leaf

Length: 355 mm
Upper bouts: 165 mm
Middle: 113 mm
Lower bouts: 203 mm

About the Maker
Andrew Carruthers (1957- ) is a contemporary luthier who was born in Oxfordshire, England. Carruthers initially worked as a Research Associate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before pursuing instrument making, whereupon he returned to the United Kingdom to attend the now-defunct Welsh School of Violin Making and Repair. Carruthers then came stateside to Chicago, working under the cello specialist Russell Wagner in the notable Bein & Fushi atelier. Carruthers focused predominantly on repair and restoration at Bein & Fushi, but came in early each day to build his own instruments. In 1994, Carruthers moved to Tacoma, Washington and ran a shop out of his basement, before settling in Santa Rosa, California the next year. Once in Santa Rosa, Carruthers did restorations for dealers and crafted his own instruments in equal measure. In 2015, Carruthers began to focus entirely on stringed instrument making, and has made hundreds of instruments based on Guarneri del Gesù, Stradivarius, Montagana models, as well as building many “off-beat” violins and cellos that expand the aesthetic of his craft. He also employs woods often neglected by other luthiers, including poplar and willow. He has earned several accolades for his instruments, including Violin Society of America’s Silver Medal for Cello Tone, as well as Certificate of Merit for Violin Tone and Cello Tone.

https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/

If you are seriously interested in commissioning a similar instrument from Mr. Carruthers, please phone us at 818-246-0278.