About the maker
Emidio Celani represents the typical central Italian luthier, whose self-taught production spread mainly in the surrounding areas, and whose customers were primarily members of his rural community–amongst them peasants, small artisans, and local musicians.
The history
Like his brother Costantino, Emidio Celani was known as ‘Il Turco’ (the Turk) in Ascoli Piceno, the town where he was born in 1866. Emidio came from a family of farmers, but he also dedicated his life to the making of plucked and bowed instruments. Despite enjoying a relatively short life–he died in 1898–he had the time to make several instruments. Like most luthiers in this region, he was self-taught, devoting himself to both repairing and making instruments.
References
Leonhard Florian, The Makers of Central Italy. Cremona: Edizioni Novecento, 2011.
Consistent quirks
A self-taught maker, Emidio Celani’s relatively limited output shows inconsistency in style, quality, and finish. Again, similar to his brother, the varnish work was oftentimes experimental. His violin workmanship shows a lack of fastidiousness when cutting the f holes and inlaying the purfling, which suggests the maker lacked the nerve to attempt a high degree of precision.
