Mittenwald master violin by Anton Jais c.1810 (certificate by H. Köstler)

This fine Mittenwald master instrument highlights the peak of the artisanal maturity Anton Jais had achieved in the late phase of his life’s work. Sophisticated musicians will enjoy being introduced to this wonderful-sounding instrument by a noteworthy late 18^th-century  Mittenwald luthier, a violin with a historic aesthetic featuring a heavily darkened deep red varnish.

A contemporary of the great Aegidius Klotz, Anton Jais is one of the later representatives of the old Mittenwald school of violin making. Like Klotz, the significantly more famous of the two, Jais upheld an artisanal tradition which underwent one last renaissance during this generation before being more or less eclipsed by the rapid rise of “publishing” and the subsequent industrial production of musical instruments. In this context, Jais is especially interesting not least because his style reflects a personal character which stood apart from the influential Klotz tradition. His work is unmistakably rooted in Jakob Stainer’s violin model, yet Anton Jais always exhibited an intense influence from Mathias Hornsteiner (“Hofschmied”), and the reasons for this can only be speculated upon. At a corpus length of 35.5 cm, this somewhat smaller violin is indubitably the work of Anton Jais with its characteristic sound holes, its typical purfling, and distinctive crafting of the pegbox and scroll. Given its advanced age, it has been kept in outstanding condition and has remarkably few repairs. Interesting traces of use enigmatically enhance the glorious beauty of the varnish which accentuates the moderately-grained spruce top and the tight flames of the two-piece maple back. The fact that Anton Jais deserves to be more well known as one of the masters of the Mittenwald violin-making tradition is confirmed by all of the aesthetic features of this violin, most notably its exceptionally good powerful sound which will inspire professional musicians; the voice is full and mature along with the singing nature of its radiantly clear upper registers. Our specialist luthiers have set up this fine violin and made it ready to play, and it is eligible for our trade-in guarantee, so you can have its value credited towards another instrument you purchase with us at a later date.