Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume & Nicolas Vuillaume: violin "St. Cecile des Thernes"

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, France’s most prominent name in the field of 19th-century French violin making, left behind a legacy that was as extensive as it was multi-facetted

One particularly interesting aspect of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume oeuvre is the violins and cellos he crafted in collaboration with his younger brother Nicolas Vuillaume under the name “Saint-Cécile des Thernes.” These were instruments crafted by Nicolas Vuillaume and varnished at J.B. Vuillaume in Paris with a lovely and eye-catching stamp ornamenting the back.

This particular "St. Cécile" is a fine violin from around 1860, and like its sisters, it was preliminary made by Nicholas Vuillaume in Mirecourt before Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume finished and varnished it in Paris. It is patterned after a Stradivari model with a low table, and it clearly shows the high standard of craftsmanship upheld by the family Vuillaume. Its body features a top of moderately-grained spruce and a one-piece maple back, the flawless work of an extremely talented hand. The lavish scroll with blackened edges in the typical French style justifiably expresses a sense of self-confidence which the violin's large, powerful sound confirms. In the course of its approximately 150-year lifespan, its reddish-brown varnish has darkened, highlighting the historic appearance of this well-maintained instrument. Some tolerable, minor wormhole repair (x-ray proof) has been performed and this original J.B. Vuillaume St Cecile des Thernes violin was in the course meticulously restored and set up by the specialists at our atelier for restoration. This original J. B. Vuillaume violin is offered with a certificate by Stuttgart expert Hieronymus Köstler and a certificate of appraisal for € 25,000 by Corilon violins. Comes from the property of a member of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra who played this violin in several recordings.