Cello Back of

The instrument is excellently preserved and entirely original. The back, sides and headstock are in maple, while the sound board is made of two spruce boards. It is also adorned by white maple and black walnut purfling. Piero Parravicini was born in Bovisio Masciago, a small centre in the current province of Monza and Brianza. He worked at the company Monzino, Milan, in 1918-1925, becoming a student of Romeo Antoniazzi (1862-1925). He later established his own workshop in his native city where, besides the construction business, he also taught drawing at the local School of Arts and Crafts. His works have obtained several awards and acknowledgements in Italy, including prizes at the National Lute-Making Competition held in Rome in 1925 and 1929, at the International Contemporary Lute-Making Competition held in Cremona in 1949, and at the National Exhibition in Florence in 1951.