A 308-year-old Stradivarius violin is estimated to sell in the range of $15 million to $20 million on June 9 at an online auction conducted by the fine instrument auction house Tarisio.
Tarisio’s record for a Stradivarius stands at $16 million from a sale in 2011; because of condition issues, it could not be played, just collected.
This violin is called the “da Vinci, Ex-Seidel”—the da Vinci part of the name seems to have been given in the early 20th century, according to an auction house representative; ex-Seidel refers to its previous owner, Toscha Seidel. It could sell for a premium because it is fully playable.
“From the musician’s standpoint, it’s definitely priceless,” says Carlos Tomé, director at Tarisio. “From the audience point of view also it’s priceless, but you have to put a monetary value to it.”
Tomé says bidders will include private collectors, along with institutions looking to diversify their investments. “Whenever there has been war, whenever there is a depression, the violins have never suffered. It doesn’t have the big spikes of returns like the volatility of other markets, it is a very, very steady return,” he says.
The “da Vinci, Ex-Seidel” has a storied past. It was owned by Russian-American virtuoso Toscha Seidel, who paid $25,000 for it and owned it for nearly 40 years. Under his stewardship, the violin can be heard in the original film score for The Wizard of Oz, numerous CBS Network radio shows, and in recordings with major orchestras around the world.
This rare Stradivarius “has a luscious, deep and powerful sound and is something that really carries you,” Tomé says. It will go on tour, with viewings in London, Berlin, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo, before it returns to New York for the official auction in June.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.