About the maker
Costantino Celani, together with his brother Emidio, was active in the Marche region from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. He was more prolific than his brother, and made a considerable number of stringed instruments during his long life.
The history
Like his brother Emidio, Costantino Celani was called Il Turco (the Turk). He was born in Ascoli Piceno in 1869 into a farming family. He approached violin making through his elder brother, with whom he worked until the untimely and premature death of Emidio. However, his production was known beyond the borders of his region and seemed to have been in demand abroad. He was also a well-known restorer, and during his lifetime, which ended in 1953, he had apprentices, some of whom were his former students, such as Cesare Castelli.
References
Leonhard Florian, The Makers of Central Italy. Cremona: Edizioni Novecento, 2011.
Consistent quirks
The varnish seems to have been a constant experiment for the Celani brothers, in particular after 1900. Before 1900 the varnish is a bit more classical and transparent, while later it varies greatly, sometimes bearing similarity to the best makers of the time, and at other times appearing to be more matt and opaque. His instruments have a rustic appearance as precision was not the goal but rather an instrument that could be used to make music in the vicinity of where he lived.
