At auction at Sotheby's a Stradivarius violin, estimated value $12-15 million
The instrument was made in 1714 by the Cremonese luthier, during his renowned 'golden age'.
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Sotheby's has been commissioned by the New England Conservatory to auction the Joachim-Ma Stradivari violin with an estimate of $12-15 million. The instrument was made in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari during his renowned 'golden age'. Before being donated to the Boston Conservatory, it belonged to the late violinist Si-Hon Ma, an alumnus of the same institution. Ma donated the rare violin with the expectation that its future sale could help provide scholarships for students.
The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius will be auctioned during the auction house's Masters Week in February. Before the sale, it will be displayed at Sotheby's offices in London and Hong Kong. "The first time we saw the instrument, we were really blown away," Mari-Claudia Jimenez, Sotheby's president for the Americas, told ArtNews.Jimenez has seen many extraordinary, nine-figure artworks and other items belonging to incredible artists and celebrities. However, the Sotheby's executive had never seen or touched a Stradivarius violin.
"This is a violin from over 300 years ago that has essentially shaped the history of classical music by virtue of what was played on it and who it belonged to," he said. "It makes one shudder to think about the history of this object over time and how it has changed the world."
The violin's provenance also includes the previous ownership of the influential violinist Joseph Joachim. According to a Sotheby's press release, 'Joachim almost certainly performed on this very instrument during the 1879 premiere of Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major op. 77, conducted by the composer himself'.
There are around 500 Stradivarius around the world
.The valuation of the violin was calculated on the basis of known Stradivarius violins (around 500), most of which can be found in museums and cultural institutions mainly in the Italian city of Cremona, Stradivari's birthplace. Sotheby's specialists assessed the quality of the Joachim-Ma violin against others sold in previous years and its 'extraordinary' condition.
