The robbery occurred in broad daylight, Thursday, November 20. Precisely between 13.30 WIB. and 4 p.m., at Christine Emmanuelle Bouquet’s house in Saujon (Charente-Maritime), a town located inland near Royan. “I was one kilometer from home, working in the fields. I had locked everything, but when I got home, the lock was forced open. Everything was lying on the ground,” complained this farmer again.
The thieves took his identification papers, his truck keys and, to his great dismay, his violin and pernambuco bow. The instrument has “tremendous sentimental value” in the eyes of this former Saujon music school teacher. “This is Albert Deblaye n°2911, orange-brown lacquer, stem length 35.5 cm. Made in 1928. Its special feature is that it has a flexible chin guard that I patched, it is easy to recognize,” he explained.
“We have to make it known to all the luthiers”
Since the break-in, Christine Emmanuelle Bouquet has made many publications on social networks in the hope of finding her beloved instrument. “Help me!” We must inform all luthiers, pay attention to the announcement on Le Bon Coin. I’ve done it but I can’t be everywhere,” added the musician who filed a complaint with the Saujon gendarmerie. Regarding the monetary value of the violin, he did not choose to specify it for “fear of influencing thieves by giving a price order.”
This defeat really saddened him. “I stopped playing the violin for ten years. I started again four years ago and now I can’t play anymore. Most importantly, it has a beautiful sound. And then I bought it in 1996 from a violinist from the Tours symphony orchestra, it accompanied me during my training years at the La Rochelle conservatory. It was a piece of my life that was missing. A friend would lend me one for a week, but it wasn’t the same,” says Saujonnaise. Who invites anyone who thinks they have seen the instrument to notify the gendarmerie Saujon on 05.46.02.80.17.
