Antonio Stradivari 1732 ca. VL Baillot, Briselli
This instrument belongs to Stradivari’s ‘Late Period’, and although it bears an original label reading ‘Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 1732’, its production date is still not completely agreed upon. The renowned French violinist and composer Pierre Marie-François de Sales Baillot (1771–1842), who owned the violin, was positive that it had been manufactured in 1737. When Charles-Eugène Gand saw the instrument in 1870, however, he dated it 1717. On the other hand, Charles Enel agreed with P. Baillot and noted in his certificate from 1920 that the instrument was crafted in 1737 and that the last two figures of its label had been retouched to read 1732. William Henley, Ernest N. Doring and Herbert K. Goodkind listed it among the works from 1732. More recently John C. Topham examined the violin dendrochronologically and concluded: ‘it appears that the Baillot violin has more in common with Stradivari violins made between 1718 and 1721 than it has with Stradivari violins made between 1733 and 1736.’
Further Details
Antonio Stradivari Set 1, Volume 4, Page 246
