GAND & BERNARDEL frères violin, 1881, Nr. 947, Andre Levi certificate, ex-Louis Kaufman, Paris | Metzler Violins

sweet, versatile, clear

About the Instrument

This violin maintains a resonance across registers, making it a beautifully versatile instrument to play. A sweet clarity is balanced by a rich warmth. Its single piece back bears dazzling flames that list slightly to the upper right bout. The flames are similarly present on the ribs, neck, and scroll, the latter of which has blackened chamfers. The purfling is distinct against the reddish-brown varnish.

Interior label reads: “Gand & Bernardel Fres / Luthiers du Conservatoire de Musique / No. 947. Paris 1881”
Length: 360 mm 
Upper Bouts: 166 mm
Middle: 112 mm
Lower Bouts: 207 mm

About the Maker

Charles Nicolas Eugène Gand (1825-1892) and the brothers Gustave Bernardel (1832-1904) and Ernest Bernardel (1826-1899) were the founding members of this productive and prosperous 19th-century Parisian luthier workshop. The firm was established as Gand & Bernardel Frères in 1866, after the death of Charles Eugène's brother and the elder Bernardel’s retirement.

Charles Eugène Gand studied under his father Charles François Gand (himself was a student of Nicolas Lupot) and his brother older Charles Adolphe. Gustave and Ernest Bernardel were also pupils of their father, Auguste Sebastien Philippe, who learned the craft from the elder Gand and Nicolas Lupot. Their friendship and ultimate source of their education, Nicolas Lupot, the founding father of French luthier tradition, strongly bound the two sets of brothers prior to their merging into a single firm.

In its decades of operation, Gand and Bernardel, made over a thousand instruments and bows of remarkable quality with the help of several excellent luthiers and bow makers in their employ. Their instruments are often based on classical Cremonese models. After Gand's death, Gustave Bernardel was the workshop’s sole proprietor until his retirement in 1901, when he sold Gand & Bernardel Frères to Cressa & Francais.