Giovanni Battista Ceruti was born in Sesto, a town close to Cremona, in 1755. In 1786, he moved to Cremona, where he got to know the Bergonzi Brothers, CarloⅡand Nicolo. The encounter with them drove him to establish an atelier on Caltellai Avenue and he started to engage in making instruments in his forties.
Like Giovanni Rota, Ceruti is known as an enthusiastic follower of Lorenzo Storioni. In 1802, when Storioni left Cremona, Ceruti succeeded to Storioni’s atelier and made many excellent instruments, which were great blessings to the following generations.

Starting with him, three generations of his family: Giovanni’s son, Giuseppe, and his grandson, Enrico, were recognized as the top violin-makers in Cremona until Enrico passed away in 1883.

Ceruti was born in the generation after Stradivarius and Guarneri, so he could not have direct contact with the two, but he succeeded to the masters’ tradition in a robust manner to re-open the door to development of violin-making in Cremona.

This violin was made in 1806, around when his skills reached the peak. The materials were carefully selected for sound effects, and the scroll, the purfling and the sound-holes were delicately made. The moderate arch and soft cherry-colored original varnish still exist to produce strong clear but sweet sound.