Luigi Fabris

Highest auction price

£82,700

Auction price history

Type	Details	Sold	Price
Cello	73.3 cm Venice, 1842 [Ascribed to & possibly by]	Tue 1st November 2011	£82,700
Violin	Venice, 1847	Wed 1st June 2005	£17,710
Violin	Venice, 19th C. [Attributed to]	Fri 1st October 2004	£5,090
Cello	1860 c. [Possibly by]	Mon 1st March 2004	£10,200
Violin	1885	Sat 1st November 1997	£9,775
Violin	1862	Wed 1st June 1988	£4,400

Biographies

John Dilworth Cecie Stainer Willibald Leo Lütgendorff

John Dilworth

FABRIS, Luigi Born 1809, died 1889 Venice Italy. Member of a well-known musical family in Venice. Probably trained by Novello (a near neighbour) or Indri, the last remaining luthiers practicing in Venice at that time. Resident from 1831-1841 at 879 Calle San Giovanni and for the rest of his life at 1019 Campiello delle Stroppe. By about 1850 economic pressures forced him to take employment with Giuseppe Camploy, a general retailer of musical instruments and a keen collector. In 1856 began marketing instrument varnish, in all probability of his own devising, designed to penetrate the wood fibres and enhance its acoustic properties. By 1870 had returned to full-time violin making, and many of his best instruments date from this period. Awarded a silver medal at the Treviso Exposition 1872. Stradivari or Guarneri model; rugged rather than refined in workmanship. Extremely broad purfling and very fine well-textured red-brown varnish. Often used bird’s eye maple (not commonly encountered in Italian work) and fairly coarse pine for the tables. Cellos very desirable. Viole d’amore also extant. Luigi Fabris / fecit in Venezia Anno 1835 / abita a San Giacomo dall’Orio Luigi Fabris fecit / Venezia l’anno 1861 Luigi Fabris fecit / Venezia Anno 1873 / Premiato con medaglia d’argento al’ Esposizione di Treviso, 1872 [Pio]