c1900 Luigi Fenga bowl back mandolin with Brazilian Rosewood Scalloped Ribs Stock# 45427 - Serial # nsn Here\'s a great Italian \"bowl-back\" mandolin from a known maker, with a straight neck, decent neck angle, and no significant damage. Since this is part of an estate it must be sold at sale, as those who inherited it do not wish to risk the delays that often happen with a consignment sale.
Luigi Fenga was a Sicilian luthier (1866-1939) who also built violins and guitars. He worked in other major European cities like Paris and Rome before returning to Catania. This is a well-made and well-preserved example of his work, and almost certainly was made before World War I, a build date between 1900 and 1910 is likely as this style of mandolin faded in popularity in the U. S. by the early \'teens. The construction shows a mature builder in full command of the style, which features a slightly arched, unfinished soundboard, a Brazilian rosewood bowl with 29 heavily scalloped ribs, and elaborate fruitwood binding around the top edge and rosewood apron below. The thin ebony fingerboard is quite straight, with just a slight crack in the portion above the soundhole (see photo 19). The 17 bar stock frets are fairly level, especially on the treble side, but some work will be needed if you intend to play high on the fingerboard with low string action, especially on the bass strings. The neck is probably veneered with Brazilian rosewood, it doesn\'t feel heavy enough to be solid rosewood. The original tuners all work. All the pearl inlays are intact and the black mastic that contains them is solid with no crumbling. The pearl inlays, and their engraving, in the pickguard (guardplate) are in almost perfect condition, and the pickguard is flat with no looseness.
Wear to the spruce top shows that this instrument was played, but it was also extremely well cared for, and it has probably been in the San Francisco Bay Area\'s benign climate for most of its life which helps explain the wonderful condition. San Francisco had a large Italian population, much of it centered around the famous North Beach neighborhood. Lots of Italian-made mandolins were shipped directly to that city during the early years of the mandolin\'s popularity and were sold through Italian music stores and instructors, most with Italian surnames.
The original canvas case is in equally fine condition, but the leather handle gave up.
This mandolin will need restringing, a light fret mill, and set-up before using. Don\'t let this statement scare you away, lots of sellers claim their instruments are ready to play but then buyers find they need work. We choose to tell you work is needed. Please don\'t scan these photos quickly on a smartphone, use a real disply, blow up the photos, know what you are offerding on and good luck!Please review all of the photos carefully, as they are a vital part of the description. Although Gryphon has the reputation of being a full-service repair shop, all sales on are strictly \"as-is\" and no after-sale service is implied or should be expected.
Case:Orig Canvas
Please click on the image to see a larger version
All pictures are of the actual instrument for sale.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 As-Is Instruments From Estates:Gryphon is currently doing a lot of appraisals for estates, and often as a result we are asked to help beneficiaries sell the instruments they have inherited. Many times there is more than one beneficary, rarely does anyone know how to play the instrument in question, and they usually don\'t want to invest in repairs before it is sold. It\'s difficult for us to sell instruments \"as is\" in our store or online, as people expect gear from Gryphon to be fully functional. Since an sale format also provides a fully transparent record of what an estate instrument sold for, we\'ve been using sales for these sales. We try to describe everything about the instrument, including all flaws or things that need repair, and we also provide lots of high-resolution photos so you can see exactly what you are offerding on.
