Tarisio

Tarisio
Name	Tarisio
Type	Auction house
Founded	2002
Founders	John Pringle
Headquarters	New York City
Industry	Auctioneering
Products	String instruments, bows, sheet music

Tarisio

Tarisio is an online auction house and dealer specializing in fine string instruments, bows, and related manuscripts and collections. Founded in 2002, it operates at the intersection of traditional lutherie, high-end collecting, and digital commerce, attracting clients ranging from soloists and conservatories to collectors and museums. The firm has become notable for high-profile sales, provenance research, and collaborations with instrument makers, dealers, and cultural institutions.

History

Tarisio was established in 2002 by John Pringle amid a changing market that included institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, collectors like the Provençal collections, and dealers associated with names like W.E. Hill & Sons and Otto Trübner. Early activity intersected with work by luthiers and experts including Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, and scholars connected to the Royal Academy of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, and Juilliard School. The company expanded during the 2000s while other auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's developed competing departments for musical instruments. Tarisio’s provenance research and cataloguing referenced archives like those at the Library of Congress, the British Library, and the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, establishing ties to conservation efforts exemplified by the American Federation of Musicians and scholarship from institutions including the Smithsonian Institution.

Business Model and Services

Tarisio operates primarily as an online auctioneer and private dealer, integrating services offered historically by firms such as Wurts and Rembert Wurlitzer. It provides valuation and appraisal services utilized by clients such as the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and private collections like those of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra members. The firm offers condition reports drawing on expertise from restorers associated with workshops in cities including Cremona, Milan, Paris, and London. Tarisio’s model combines timed online auctions, private treaty sales, and curated sales rooms, reflecting approaches used by marketplaces such as eBay for niche collectibles and by auction houses like Bonhams for specialist departments. Ancillary services include provenance research, export documentation aligned with UNESCO cultural property guidance, and advisory work for foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation and university collections at Yale University and Oxford University.

Auctions and Notable Sales

Tarisio has conducted auctions featuring instruments linked to makers including Antonio Stradivari, Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, Niccolò Amati, and Andrea Amati. Notable sales garnered attention alongside comparable high-profile sales at Sotheby's and Christie's, involving collectors and performers represented by agencies such as IMG Artists and Hilbert Artists Management. Records include instruments formerly in the collections of figures like Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, and estates associated with the Venezia Conservatorio. Cataloguing has referenced archives like the Harrison/Oboe Collection and the Zanetto collection, and auctions have featured manuscripts by composers linked to the Royal College of Music and the Conservatoire de Paris. Tarisio’s sales frequently attract bids from dealers such as J & A Beare, galleries like Christie’s Fine Instruments Department, and institutions seeking investments similar to art purchases by entities such as the Getty Trust.

Instruments and Specializations

The firm specializes in bowed string instruments and bows: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and archetier work by makers including François Xavier Tourte, Dominique Peccatte, and Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Tarisio catalogs often emphasize maker attributions comparable to scholarship by the Violin Society of America, with condition assessments referencing conservation practices from sites like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and restoration traditions in Cremona workshops tied to families such as the Guarneri and Stradivari legacies. The company also handles rare manuscripts and ephemera associated with composers and performers connected to institutions including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Locations and Offices

Tarisio’s principal office has been in New York City, with operations reaching international markets through online platforms and consignment networks in cities including London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Milan, and Cremona. The firm coordinates condition inspections and viewings often in partnership with conservatories such as the Royal Academy of Music, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, and the Moscow Conservatory, and works with shipping and logistics specialists familiar with customs rules enforced by authorities like U.S. Customs and Border Protection and counterparts in the European Union.

Reception and Controversies

Tarisio has been both praised and critiqued within circles including The Strad readership, commentators from BBC Music Magazine, and trade discussions at conferences like those organized by the European Viola Society and the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. Praise centers on accessibility of rare instruments to broader audiences and transparency in online cataloguing akin to digital initiatives from institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art. Criticisms have addressed questions of attribution, authenticity disputes reminiscent of controversies that have involved Sotheby's and scholarly debates in journals like Early Music and The Galpin Society Journal, and the market effects debated by commentators from Financial Times and The New York Times. Legal and ethical debates have occasionally invoked international conventions including UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and national regulations governing cultural patrimony in countries such as Italy and France.

Category:Auction houses