A Charming Lionhead Violin From Mittenwald, Second Quarter 19th Century.

Nestled at the seat of the Karwendel Mountains, Mittenwald is a proverbial Mecca for German lutherie and the artisanal instrument craft, rich in history and steeped in traditions some 300 years and more in the making. The surrounding forests which reach high above the little Bavarian town supplied the craftsmen of old with high quality spruce of most admirable tonal qualities, a fabled resource that modern makers continue to draw from to this day. The State Vocational School For Instrument Making trains the legends of tomorrow and traces its roots back to 1858, sitting almost a stone’s throw from the Geigenbaumuseum. And at its heart, a statue of Matthias Klotz, father to a dynasty of luthiers which heralded the town makers’ guild and comprised many of the luthier school’s original faculty. This charming second quarter 19th century violin from Mittenwald bears a figural head, a more mythical interpretation of a lion, and of somewhat more detailed variety than those that prevailed towar