A Stradivarius violin kept in a closet for the past 25 years could fetch as much as $10 million when it goes on auction at Christie’s auction house next month.
The instrument was once owned by French musician Rodolphe Kreutzer, one of Europe’s leading concert violinists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
It was crafted in 1731 by famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari.
“It’s a magnificent instrument, a great piece of sculpture”, Christie’s International Specialist Head of Musical Instruments Kerry Keane said at an auction preview in Hong Kong today.
In a statement, the auction house described the item as “exceptional” and “the one violin that Kreutzer held most special to him”.
It has belonged to the family of wealthy 19th-century American entrepreneur and politician William Andrews Clark for almost 100 years.
The instrument will go under the hammer in June in New York as part of an auction entitled ‘An American Dynasty: The Clark Family Treasures’.
Hong Kong Philharmonic's concertmaster, Jing Wang, played two pieces by Bach on the prized violin and said the instrument was “very intimate”.
Christie's expect ‘the Kreutzer’ to fetch between $7.5 million and $10 million. The record price for a Stradivarius violin is $16 million, achieved at auction in London in 2011.
A rare Stradivarius viola valued at $45 million could become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it is auctioned by Sotheby's later in June.
