Ansaldo Poggi (1947)

Ansaldo Poggi (1893–1984) is among the most sought-after Italian violin makers of the twentieth century. A trained violinist from Villafontana near Bologna, he joined Giuseppe Fiorini in his Zurich workshop in the early 1920s and adopted from him the classical method of building over an inside mould. In 1923 he opened his own workshop in Bologna and was awarded silver (1923) and three times gold (1925, 1927, 1929) at the national competition in Rome; in 1937 he showed a string quartet at the Cremona exhibition. From around 1930 he developed an unmistakable hand of his own: Stradivari models with narrow edges, fine purfling and pronounced bee-stings, immaculate workmanship, first-rate woods and a transparent golden to reddish-orange varnish whose edges are rubbed to a lighter shade. From 1946 to 1948 Poggi lived and worked in Zurich, where he collaborated with the Bänziger firm; instruments from those years carry labels naming “Zurigo”. By 1982 he had made 322 violins, 41 violas and 25 cellos. His instruments have been played by Nathan Milstein, David Oistrakh, Yehudi Menuhin and Aaron Rosand, among others.

This violin of 1947 dates from Poggi's Zurich years and bears his brand stamp “A. POGGI” on the lower block.