Stradivarius Violin? The Real Deal
Stradivarius Violins
You’ve bought an old farmhouse in the country and are exploring it’s attic for the first time when you find an old and very dusty violin. It has no strings or tuning pegs and obviously needs some work. You peer into one of the f-holes and your heart skips a beat as you see a label that reads “Antonio Stradivari 1701.”
I’m sorry to tell you that chances are not good that you have found one of the real Stradivarius Violins. Although it is conceivable that additional authentic instruments could turn up, more than 300 are missing, most of those probably fell apart over the centuries. Some are believed to have been casualties of war.
Between 1800 and 1950, thousands of violins were made in Germany and labeled Stratavarious. Some of them are fine instruments and sell for thousands of dollars. Many other fakes have been made in other parts of the world.
Stradivarius Violin Value
If you do find a real Stratavarious, say at the Goodwill, congratulations you are rich. Any real Stratovarius is going to sell for at least a few million dollars.
Antonio Stradivari made more than 1,100 instruments. Not only violins but also harps, violas, cellos, and guitars. Of these 960 were violins, 450 – 512 survive today. Early instruments from Stradivari, those made in the latter half of the 1600s, sell for less than those from the golden period, 1700 – 1720s. The current high price paid for a Stradivarius violin is 15.9 million dollars.
Many of these instruments have become legendary because of the musicians/people that have owned or played them. Comedian Jack Benny owned and played a Stradivarius. It’s now called the Jack Benny Strad and it is played by the concertmaster of the L.A. Philharmonic. The Smithsonian has a quartet of Stradivarius instruments that are played by the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra.
Most of the instruments are now more than 300 years old. Almost all of them have been worked on. Very few are in their original condition.
The Lady Blunt Stradivarius made in 1720 sold for a record 15.9 million dollars. It is one of two instruments made by Stradivarius that are considered pristine and it is never played.
The Red Mendelssohn Stradivarius, made in 1721, was given to soloist Elizabeth Pitcairn by her grandfather when she was 16 years old. This instrument was the inspiration for the movie, The Red Violin. To read Art Johnson’s blog piece on the history of the Red Mendelssohn, click here.
To learn more:
For the Wikipedia page on Antonio Stradivari, click here.
Visit Strativarious.org
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