The Art Guitars of Enrico Bottelli: the Black River

The Black River guitar is the first of a serie of instruments that the Italian luthier Enrico Bottelli has inaugurated in 2018 in occasion of the Exposition Roma EXPO Guitars. These instruments are unique rare pieces, different from one another and from Enrico’s standard production, with an original aesthetic theme and rich and unconventional decorations that remain nonetheless linked to the classical guitar tradition. The beauty of woods, bindings, purflings, inserts, and forms and the complex mosaic decorations are protagonist of these guitars that take inspiration from the highly decorated exposition guitars of 19th and 20th century famous builders A. de Torres (la guitarra cumbre 1958) and F. Simplicio (Barcelona, el modernismo, art nuveau guitars) These guitars are available on custom orders.

Black River

In the summer of 2017, as I was visiting with a colleague guitar maker, I saw for the first time this fantastic wood, Black and White Ebony "Diospyros embryopteris" from Laos.

I was struck by its expressive force and by its beauty and aesthetical variety, so fascinating and evocative that its stunning streaks brought up from within myself the image of a streaming black river, hence the name of the guitar.

I immediately thought of using Black and White Ebony as a special feature in the form of purfled sections, using small quantities of it surrounded by the dark density of the rosewood used for the sides and for the back.

I had previously had another idea but only got round to using it for the first time in this guitar: it is represented by the arched mosaics realized on the top with 11 different types of wood which follow one another as part of a definite sequence with its own rhythm.

The challenge was to try to harmonize both ideas: the classical geometry of the mosaics, traditionally used in guitar making, and the use of Black and White Ebony, less controllable and plannable, which however makes it possible to express the overwhelming beauty of nature.

I would like to thank my trainees and apprentices Antonio Marchese, Adriano Devoto, Daniele Marrabello, Davide Scacchi, Angelo Vailati and Ivan Bruna who helped with construction and also contributed to aesthetical choices. Without them I would have been unable to finish the instrument and to present it at the Roma Export Guitars 2018.

 

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Black River fronte

Front

 

 

You can listen to the sound of Black river in these videos

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