JOSEPH MARQUÈS

The brothers Joseph and Salvador Marquès were born in Mataró, 18 miles north of Barcelona, to a family of cabinet makers. In the record books of the Brotherhood of St John the Baptist they are registered as guitar makers, together with many other trades relating to woodworking. They made an unknown number of instruments, which are of less importance than the ones of their contemporaries Joan Guillamí, Joseph Massaguer and Salvador Bofill. Currently there is only one known surviving violin by Joseph, in a private collection, and there is only half a violin back made by Salvador, which is kept at the Museu de la Música in Barcelona. (Conveniently, it is the half that still retains the label.)

Joseph’s activities were directly related to the musical life around the Church of Santa Maria, where according to his will he was buried in 1770. In the inventory of Joseph’s property his elder son, also named Joseph, received: ‘the amount of only 25 pounds, as for many years I financially supported your studies while you were wasting money.’ A younger son named Pere Anton received: ‘a sum of money, a house, some tools, a stock of wood, patterns for making guitars and violins, three violin bows, a hank of black horsehair and a box containing violin, viola and guitar strings’.

INSTRUMENT AND MATERIALS

Made in 1759, this violin is still in its original Baroque condition. The top is made from fine, even spruce with some irregular grains, especially on the treble side. The one-piece back and sides are all made from nice, wild-flamed maple, while the original neck and scroll are of plain maple. All of it most probably came from the Pyrenees, as was the custom for 18th-century Catalan violin making. The general style and body outline is almost the same as those of instruments made by contemporary luthiers in Barcelona.

EDGEWORK AND PURFLING

There is no inlaid purfling; there are only two irregular lines of black ink around the edges, on both the top and the back. The corners are a little worn, but even though they are cut quite imprecisely, they have a simple and graceful delicacy.

F-HOLES AND ARCHING

The attractive f-holes are cut and designed with enthralling personality www.thestrad.com and elegance. The fluting of the edge is very short and the arching is quite low and gradual.

SCROLL

The scroll has a very thin chamfer and the carving of the turns is deep. The side view of the pegbox is slim: all of it is very close in style to what the contemporary maker Joseph Massaguer was doing in his own violins.

VARNISH

The varnish is of an orange–red colour, thickly applied over a yellow–gold ground. It was much admired and praised by the French expert Étienne Vatelot while on a professional visit to Barcelona in the 1990s.

LABEL

The label reads: ‘Joseph Marquès Majó / en Mataró 1759’. Marquès added the word ‘major/majó’ after his name on the handwritten label and also on his will, to differentiate himself from his son.