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The Gentile Collection
Canadian artist Paul Gentile's (pronounced jen-TEEL) magnificent miniatures
are exact replicas of legendary
musical instruments-
right down to the time-worn blemishes
on
the finishes -- in 1/7th the
original size.
Only two of each were created
and only one
of each is available for sale.
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Seven years in the making
The collection took more than
seven years
to complete. Gentile often works
through
a jeweler's loop because the
pieces he uses
are sometimes the thickness of
a human hair.
The Gentile Collection consists of remarkably
detailed miniatures of the 1679 Heller Stradivarius Violin, the 1957 Selmer Mrk VI Alto Saxophone, the 1688 Antonio Stradivari Guitar, the 1701 Antonio Stradivari "Servais"
Cello, the 1785 Vincenzo Panormo Double Bass and the 1931 Eugene Sartori Double Bass Bow (which has been used to play the Panormo
double bass).
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Paul Gentile: Renaissance artisan
Canadian artist Paul Gentile
is a true renaissance
artisan who hand-crafts historically
accurate
exact miniature replicas of classical
musical
instruments in 1/7th their original
size.
Bio
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Miniatures 1/7th scale of the legendary originals
 The instruments in the Gentile Collection
are painstakingly replicated
in 1/7th their
original size. The collection
took more than
seven years to complete. Gentile
often works
through a loop because the pieces
he uses
are sometimes the thickness of
a human hair.
You can also view relative-scale photos of
the entire collection.
This is Paul Gentile's miniature
1679 Hellier Stradivarius Violin.
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Remarkable intricacy
As an example of the intricacy
of Gentile's
work, it took him 2 1/2 months
to cut the
fine parallel lines and chisel
out the material
between them in the Hellier violin's Baroque inlay -- which is about the thickness
of a human hair. With mathematical
precision,
he also created 476 diamond and
dot-shaped
ivory pieces, about the size
of grains of
salt, and inlaid them in the
ornamental border
known as purfling. This compelling
design
begins and ends with a single
dot. Testimonials
The baroque design was not applied
with ink
but carved into the sides and
scroll, then
filled in with a black compound,
leaving
the design pattern. Amazingly,
this is equivalent
to cutting along each side of
a human hair
and removing its center without
error.
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Guinness: World's Smallest Playable Sax
The Selmer alto saxophone can
be played and
the reed does actually vibrate
and emit a
sound, however the original intent
of this
project was to capture the mechanics
of the
action of the original instrument.
What ultimately
creates the sound is the vibration
of the
reed from the musician's mouth.
It does not
articulate perfectly due to its
size. Likewise
with the rest of the collection.
In 1994 the Saxophone was recognized
in The Guinness Book of Records as the World's Smallest Actionable Alto
Saxophone.
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Only two of each instrument exist
Only two of each instrument in
the Gentile
collection have been made, and
only one of
each is available for sale.
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All materials faithful to the originals
For each of the instruments in
the collection,
Gentile took great pains to use
the exact
materials of the originals, down
to the rare
woods, screws, rods and tubes.
He also replicated
the original techniques used
to make the
legendary musical instruments.
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Astonishing exactitude
Gentile has endeavored to be
absolutely faithful
to each of the original instruments
in the
collection, and to the materials
with which
each are made. With unrivaled
exactitude,
he has worked with fibers the
thickness of
a human hair, and screws barely
visible to
the naked eye. He sometimes makes
his own
tiny tools so he can work in
this Lilliputian
scale.
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