A violin made by the famed Antonio Stradivari in 1714 has the potential to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it goes up for auction on Friday at Sotheby’s in New York.
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The auction house is estimating the value of the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” at US$12 million to US$18 million. If it sells at the top end of that range, it could best the US$15.9 million paid in 2011 for another Stradivarius, the “Lady Blunt,” made in 1721 and named by Guinness World Records as the most expensive instrument ever sold at auction.
Mari-Claudia Jimenez, Sotheby’s Americas president and head of global business, said Stradivari made the violin during his “Golden Period”, which began around 1700 and was marked by an improvement in his craftsmanship.
“So this is the peak of his output,” Jimenez said. “This is the best violin of this era.”
Sotheby’s says the violin’s preservation is remarkable, and its ownership history extraordinary.
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It’s named for two of its famed owners – violin virtuosos Joseph Joachim of Hungary, who lived from 1831 to 1907, and Ma Si-Hon, who was born in China in 1926, moved to the US in 1948 and died in 2009.