c.1920
Paolo De Barbieri Harp Guitar SOLD |
Provenance: On our 2010 trip to Genoa, Italy, our friend master-violinmaker and scholar Alberto Giordano told me of a rare and wonderful harp guitar he had located in a shop in France. As a huge favor, Alberto kindly helped procure it for me, negotiating the price and having it shipped to my friend Franco Ghisalberti, from whence I picked it up on our 2012 trip to Genoa. Restoration to ensure it was both playable and displayable was done by Bill Fiorella. Per my request, we skipped filling the large open back crack (shown below) as there isn't that much string tension to cause any problems and it wouldn't be seen from the front. I leave this to its next custodian. According to expert Alberto Giordano, Paolo De Barbieri (1889-1962) was one of Cesare Candi’s top protégés. Typically, guitars and the occasional mandolin were just a small sideline for these top violinmakers and Alberto told me that in all his years he had seen only one 6-string guitar and this one harp guitar by De Barbieri. I do love owning the only known example of an instrument, don't you? Alberto dates it to circa 1920, telling me that the label style puts it at not later than 1922.
For me, this was more about history and a showpiece rather than a player's instrument. Indeed, tone is sadly unremarkable (though who knows with steel strings...?!). As to why I am willing to deaccession this beautiful instrument, it's only because I later acquired from Franco the similarly Candi-inspired and even more flamboyant Priano harp guitar. Price: SOLD |
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