Klotz Family of Violin Makers

From the mid-1600s to the present, members of the Klotz (or Kloz) family have made violins in Mittenwald, Germany. Dictionaries of violin makers list more than 25 by this name.

Matthias I (1656-1743) founded the Mittenwald school of violin making after study with Jacob Stainer and Nicolo Amati.

Typical labels:

Mattias Klotz Geigenmacher
zu Mittenwald an der Iser 1697

Mathias Klotz Lauten und Geigenmacher 
in Mittenwald an der Iser Anno 1695

Mathias Kloz Lautenmacher
in Mittenwalt Anno 1725

(Geigenmacher: violin maker; Lautenmacher: lute maker)

Instruments by Sebastian I (1696-1775) are probably the most admired among the many existing examples by this family.

Typical labels:

Sebastian Klotz in
Mittenwald an der Iser 1734

Sebastian Kloz, in Mittenwald, 
an 1743

Seb. G. Kloz
in Mittenwald, 1732

Joseph (1743-1819), son of Sebastian, worked in a manner similar to that of his father.

The quality of their instruments varies enormously, and many inferior, unauthentic examples have labels bearing the Klotz name.

Prepared by the Division of Music, Sports and Entertainment
in cooperation with Public Inquiry Services, Smithsonian Institution

PIMS/MUS25/rev 01-07