French violin maker Mathias Menanteau is pictured as he inspects a violin in front of his workshop in downtown Rome December 14, 2012. Born in France, Menanteau has resided in Britain, Berlin, New York and Paris while honing his skills in making and restoring musical instruments. Besides following the traditional techniques and methods used by eighteenth-century Italian violin makers to create his own bow instruments, Menanteau also adopts the less rigid, scientific approach of dendrochronology - the science of dating events and changes by observing annual growth rings in timber - when restoring these instruments in his workshop.[Photo/Agencies]