The ‘Pollitzer-Koessler’ is a fine example of del Gesu’s middle period, bursting with originality and flair, but lacking the almost aggressive mannerism that gripped his final years. It is made all the more attractive by the delicately-flamed slab wood Guarneri used for it, evidently from the same log which furnished him with the material for a handful of other violins made within a few years of each other, including the ‘Sennhauser’ and ‘Kathleen Parlow’ of 1735, and the ‘King Joseph’ and ‘Stern, ex-Panette’ of 1737. If it looks a little battle-scarred, it is entitled to. It has a long history.

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini is a fascinating maker. Eitherthe last of the classical makers, or the first of a new generation, dependingon your point of view. His working association with Count Cozio di Salabue, oneof the first connoisseurs to try and understand and document the phenomenon ofItalian violin making, has served both to clarify and obscure his position. Atthe very least, he is the missing link between Stradivari and the modern age.