St. Anna, Costa Brava / Valencia, Spain
Segovia

Woods, ivory, metal
ca. 1950’s
Length: 24 in; Width: 12 in
Strings – Lutes – Mandolins

Peghead inscription within circle with 5-pointed star: St. Anna / Costa brava
Label inside reads: Guitarras / Segovia / Made in Spain / VALENCIA

The Segovia guitar and mandolin were modeled by and for the great self-taught guitarist, Andrés Segovia (1893-1987).  This 12-string mandolin is made of mahogany and spruce with 12 metal frets. The label inside identifies this instrument, but the model No. is illegible.  The peghead inscription indicates it was made in a luthier’s workshop in Costa Brava, a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain, while the label inside indicates Valencia, possible where it was assembled.

Andrés Segovia is acclaimed by Spain as the foremost guitarist of his time. Through his expressive and artistic technic, he re-established the guitar as a concert instrument in the 20th century. He gave concert performances past the age of 90.