Help me identify the authenticity of my violin.

[Joey7]

Hello, I have what I believe to be an antique violin, I know their are fakes in circulation but I was wondering if anyone could help me find out if its even worth investing the time to see if my violin is authentic. It has a worn brown label that reads, Nicolaus Amatus fecit in cremona 16?? the date is worn so I can not read the two last numbers I think it says 1613 but im not sure. If anyone could possible help me and also I want to know if the authentic violin from the amatus family have labels in them and my bow seems to be made out of parts of opal? which seems very odd. Thank you.

[waywardangler]

Labels are easily faked or reproduced.  It is the quality of the violin that makes or breaks it.  This would need to be looked at in person by an expert familiar with violins.  Common mass produced violins are easily identified by an in person inspection.  If there is a bow, it may be worth more than the violin, if it was made by a quality maker.  IMO.

[sapphire]

Joey this link may help answer some of your questions......
just from reading some of the responses it appears the 16XX is a model number, not the year. Take a look through, hopefully it will help.

http://www.theviolinman.co.uk/messages/479.html

[talesofthesevenseas]

If it really says "fecit in Cremona" I think I can safely say you have a reproduction, since I think you've got two languages on one label. Fecit means "he made it". Usually a violin label would say "Fecit anno domini" Fecit (he made it) anno (year) domini (of our Lord). This is in Latin. Cremona is a town in Italy that is famous for producing fine violins.

Keep in mind that in the violin world, there are many fine and wonderful violins that are made in the style of the great master violin makers (luthiers). This does not make them worthless fakes. Often what a label is saying is that this violin was made in the style of the master luthier.

Although it is possible that your violin is extremely old, it is much more likely that it is one of these wonderful violins that were made in the style of the masters. I personally have a Stradivarius copy from the 1920's with deep dark tone that I love. You can take it to any reputable violin repair shop and they can tell you for sure, since they deal with these on a regular basis.

[regularjoe2]

Welcome to the forum , Joey7 .

I'm curious to know why the last 2 numbers are giving you trouble reading ?

Usually , violins of this vintage have the last 2 numbers (after '16') written by hand , in ink , on the label .

Has this ink faded , or has it just been done sloppily ?

[fancypants]

It appears as if the parts you mentioned on your bow are mother-of-pearl , not opal - @ least to my eyes .

Mother of pearl has been used for/on musical instruments for centuries , and still is today .

[KC]

This is one of those items that really has to have a hands-on examination by one-in-the-know to prove any authenticity.

Grrrrrreat information on the labels, and I do agree it looks like mother of pearl!