The Ames Stradivarius was stolen in 1981 and recovered in 2015. The Lipinski Stradivarius was stolen in an armed robbery on 27 January 2014 and subsequently recovered. The Sinsheimer/Iselin was stolen in Hanover, Germany in 2008 and recovered in 2009. It was returned three weeks later by a woman who found it and handed it over to the police. In recent years, the General Kyd Stradivarius was stolen in 2004. They are difficult to sell illicitly as dealers will typically call the police if approached by a seller with a Stradivarius known to have been stolen. Stolen instruments are often recovered, however, even after being missing for many years. Stradivarius instruments are at risk of theft. Vice magazine reported in May 2013 that "in recent years, Stradivarius investment funds have started to appear, pushing already astronomical prices even higher". The auction failed to reach its minimum bid by 25 June 2014, and the viola was not sold. In Spring 2014 the "Macdonald" viola was put up for auction through the musical instrument auction house Ingles & Hayday in conjunction with Sotheby's via silent auction with a minimum bid of $45 million. It was sold by the Nippon Music Foundation in aid of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami appeal. In 2011, his "Lady Blunt" violin from 1721, which is in pristine condition, was sold in London for $15.9 million (it is named after Lord Byron's granddaughter Lady Anne Blunt, who owned it for 30 years). ĭepending on condition, instruments made during Stradivari's "golden period" from 1700 to about 1725 can be worth millions of dollars. The 1697 " Molitor" Stradivarius, once rumored to have belonged to Napoleon (it did belong to a general in his army, Count Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor), sold in 2010 at Tarisio Auctions to violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for $3,600,000, at the time a world record. Market value Īntonio Stradivari violin of 1703 on exhibit, behind glass, at the Musikinstrumentenmuseum ( Berlin Musical Instrument Museum), 2006Ī Stradivarius made in the 1680s, or during Stradivari's "Long Pattern" period from 1690 to 1700, could be worth hundreds of thousands to several million U.S. The content of copper and aluminium is higher than current instruments. A later survey, focused on comparing median densities in both classical and modern violin examples, questioned the role available materials may have played in sound production differences, though it made no comment on variations in density differentials. These results suggest that differences in density differentials in the material may have played a significant role in the sound production of classical violins. Ī comparative study published in " PLOS ONE" in 2008 found no significant differences in median densities between modern and classical violins, or between classical violins from different origins instead the survey of several modern and classical examples of violins highlighted a notable distinction when comparing density differentials. Echard did not find traces of specialized ingredients such as protein materials, gums, or fossil amber.
Echard's findings also suggest that Stradivari used a mixture of common Cremonese resin, oil, and pigment as a varnish, rather than making his own. A lower layer of varnish is found within the topmost wood cells while an upper rests upon the wood. He reports that even when varnish is no longer visible to the human eye on the surface of older violins, it can be detected within the top layers of cells. More recently, French chemist Jean-Philippe Echard and his co-workers have studied varnishes on Stradivarius violins. Simone Fernando Sacconi suggested that Vernice bianca, an egg tempera varnish composed of gum arabic, honey, and egg white, may have been used. Sodium and potassium silicate may have been used to prevent mildew, rotting and insect damage.
Potassium borate ( borax) may have been used to protect against woodworm. As well, the violin makers applied varnishes to their instruments. The traces may have come from chemical preservatives applied by loggers to the wood they sold. Scientists at National Taiwan University have detected trace amounts of aluminum, copper, and calcium in wood from Stradivari violins. There has been conjecture that the wood used may have been treated with several types of minerals, both before and after construction of a violin. The woods used included spruce for the top, willow for the internal blocks and linings, and maple for the back, ribs, and neck. It is clear from the number of forms throughout his career that he experimented with some of the dimensions of his instruments. Stradivari made his instruments using an inner form, unlike the French copyists, such as Vuillaume, who employed an outer form.