Giovanni Grancino violin realises $254,000 at Bonhams

A violin by Giovanni Grancino circa 1690-1700 made £158,500 ($253,917) at Bonhams London on October 30.

Grancino (1637-1709) is considered the best of the Milanese luthiers, and his work is easily identified by the pale yellow varnish that he used on all his instruments.

Grancino violin 1690
Grancino's instruments feature the segno della corona, or mark of the crown

Initially he was influenced by the work of Niccolo Amati, but his later pieces display the narrowed forms and flat arching of Stradivarius.

The violin features aged, deep red brown colouring, and has been owned by the same family for the past 50 years.

In March of this year a cello by Grancino sold for £232,000 ($372,035) at Tariso in London.

A violin made circa 1840 by Joannes Franciscus Pressenda also sold well yesterday, realising £134,500 ($215,684).

Pressenda 1840 Bonhams
Pressenda's instruments were built in the tradition of the Turin School

Pressenda (1777-1854) was one of the greatest instrument makers of the Turin school, which includes masters such as Stradivarius among its cohort.

Instruments by Pressenda traditionally do well at auction. In 2002, a model from 1841 sold for £149,650 ($241,650) at Sotheby's London.

A French violin, attributed to Nicolas Lupot (1758-1824), achieved £62,500 ($100,112). One of the best-regarded luthiers of the period, Lupot was hired as violin maker to Louis XVIII.

In 1820 he was commissioned to replace all the instruments of the royal orchestra, although he died before the task could be completed.

A Lupot cello sold for £106,000 ($171,044) at Sotheby's London in 2004.

Leila Josefowicz's Bergonzi violin also auctioned this week, making $250,500.

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