A very fine German violin made by Carl Anton Hopf most likely towards the end of the 18th Century in Klingenthal. 
 
Hopf violins were widely copied in Germany during the Victorian era, always hastily made and poor quality, but to find a genuine Hopf family instrument such as this is a real treasure and they are truly under apreciated. 
 
This violin is made from excellent materials, the back from a single piece of highly figures maple and the scroll is simply gorgeous. Incredibly confidently cut, bold and masculine.  It could well be my favourite scroll on any vioiln in our collection! 
 
The sound is just superb, it has a ridiculous, warmth to the bass, the G string sounds like a cello.  Overall the tone is very fine, focused and clear but that bass will just blow you away everytime. 
 
The length of the back is 355 mm.