I have a 15" viola made by Robert Laumann of Budapest in 1899. It is in excellent shape. Is it valuable?

It is the smallest full size viola made (15" - 17"). As a violin player I can play it Appears to have very good tonal qualities.


I purchased it from a Hungarian gypsy musician in the eightees who needed money. Now I am wondering whether I was taken.


Any information about the Hungarian luthier would be also welcome.

I have a 15" viola made by Robert Laumann of Budapest in 1899. It is in excellent shape. Is it valuable?
From what I can find within a few minutes of searching, it appears you have an instrument by a known maker and it *could* be valuable. Instrument value is affected by the following, in rough order of importance:





1) Maker's name. Of course this is only if it can be authenticated. There are a lot of fakes out there and lesser-known makers are often targets of fakes.





2) Condition





3) Sound quality





Robert Laumann is a known name but I was unable to find any past auction prices for his violins or violas on Mastronet.com.





I did find a listing for one of his instruments for sale for $20,000, however, there's no way to know if it sold or for how much.





I would suggest taking the instrument to a good stringed instrument dealer in one of the major cities and ask them to appraise it. But do some research first to determine if the dealer is reputable - many are not.
Reply:I definitely agree with their choice. I was one of the two voters.





IFrom the limited data available it appears that his instruments retail at $10,000 + assuming good to excellent condition.





Despite its size, the viola has a surprisingly voluminous and impressive tone.





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Reply:because the viola is so small its not going to match in tthe tone quality of say a 16" viola. This is because the sound boxes are close together and can't vibrate quite possibly. It could be worth something so do your research an if you ddecide to sell it bring it to a credible violin shop that would help you in selling it for a qualified price. i haven't really heard of this maker much but see what you can find out there
Reply:Call the curator of an art museum, not only can they tell you what it's worth, they may be interested in purchasing the instrument.