Playing Level: Medium
Klezmer violin with a Star of David on the back.
Dedicated to violinist Shlomo Mintz, who had a leading part in the Violins of Hope project.
This violin came to Amnon Weinstein’s workshop from America. It is one of the first instruments that Amnon restored, and it is dedicated to Shlomo Mintz. Little is known about the specific history of this instrument other than that it survived the Holocaust along with its owner, who immigrated to the US. However, it was probably built near Yugoslavia around the turn of the century, and it is a good quality instrument that would have been owned by a family of means. It is one of the instruments in the collection that the Weinsteins consider “klezmer” instruments, but is one of the highest quality out of that group.
It has a particularly beautiful Star of David inlay on the back, which was a common decorative technique of its time. Although most of these instruments were mass produced with inlays, it is visible under blacklight examination that the Star of David inlay on this instrument was added after the construction of the instrument. It was therefore probably specifically commissioned by the original owner after the instrument was purchased.
Often these special instruments were hung on the walls of their owners’ homes instead of paintings or other representative art, which was not permitted according to Orthodox tradition. The varnish on the back of this violin is lighter than the front, showing that in the years before the war its Star of David was proudly displayed.
This instrument took many months to restore, with the restoration work valued at tens of thousand of dollars. Amnon was always very detailed in his restoration of these instruments, and for the sake of authenticity, he took care to find pegs and a tailpiece made in a similar region and time period to the instrument itself.
