Reference Guide 

A scion of the extensive instrument-making Eberle family of Vils and Prague, Tomaso was born in 1727 and spent his professional life in Naples, where he seems to have learnt his craft from a member of the Gagliano family.  Nicolo Gagliano is usually cited in this regard, but there are strong elements of his brother Gennaro in the disciplined and precise nature of Eberle’s work. Eberle’s instruments are very typical of Naples, regardless of his background, with beech purfling and a hard, slightly green-tinged golden varnish laid over a dark ground. What distinguishes him stylistically is a rather boxy arching profile- owing more than a little to Stainer, with a tight edge flute and a flattened centre  not seen in Gagliano work, and of course, his very exact workmanship. The best of the Gaglianos themselves can be very beautifully made, and Alessandro, the father, seems to have passed an excellent artistic flair to Gennaro, as well as what might be interpreted as financial zeal to his more prolific brother Nicolo. More often than not there are obvious signs of haste, not to say disinterest, in the cutting of the scroll in particular, which with its characteristically long Neapolitan pegbox and pegs aligned in pairs, with an extended distance between the E and  D pegs. The scroll itself is frequently reduced to a rather shapeless mass perched at the end. Eberle’s scrolls, as in this example, are always very neatly cut and readily identifiable, with deep undercuts and a distinctive oval shape, making it appear to lean forward over the pegbox. The chamfer is quite narrow and neatly laid on, in contrast to the broad and uncertain edges seen on other Neapolitans.  

Construction Details and Notes 

This instrument bears a good label stating ‘Thomas Eberle/ fecit Neap. 1779’ and is particularly interesting in that it retains its original neck. Although it has been raised slightly at the root and the fingerboard replaced, everything else about it is as it was made. Inside, the top block has a single nail hole in the centre, and a small printed label with the dedication ‘Gesu e Maria’. This was a touching habit of the Gagliano family; sometimes a ticket with a more extended prayer is found on the inner surface of an upper rib. The wood of the neck and scroll is absolutely plain maple, and cut on the half-slab, giving the impression that it might very well have been a handy workshop off-cut pressed into service. The original neck setting was very short, 125.6mm from the nut position to the edge of the table, but the resetting has brought it out to the modern standard of 130mm precisely. The remainder of the interior structure is of poplar or willow, and the small linings are not morticed into the blocks. It is more common to see beech used for the linings in Neapolitan work, but alternatives are not unusual either.

The back is made of two matched pieces of maple with a modest horizontal flame, and the distinctive broad grained structure seen in many Neapolitan instruments. It is relatively thin in its graduations, reaching a maximum of only 3.9mm in the centre, but the front is generally strong, measuring around 3mm in the breast, and is made of stiff, fine grained spruce in two matched pieces. The soundholes are very much Eberle’s own; rather stiff and upright, the arm narrow and the upper holes small and constricted, quite unlike those of other makers of the Gagliano family. The lower wings are not fluted, but flow naturally from the arching of the front.

Present Condition 

This absorbing instrument is in an excellent state of preservation, free from patches, plugs, or pests. Only a few hairline cracks disturb the purity of the table, none of which are in the normally vulnerable soundpost area. Tomaso would surely recognise it instantly, a response I often feel would be different in the case of the majority of eighteenth century instruments surviving today; worn, torn and generally very different from what their makers may have intended. 

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