LONDON: A violin made by renowned Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari during his 18th century “Golden Period” is heading for auction next month with an estimate of up to a record $18 million.

The New England Conservatory (NEC) is offering the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius”, with proceeds going to student scholarships, fulfilling the wish of musician and NEC graduate Si-Hon Ma, who donated the violin to the music school.

Sotheby’s will carry out the sale on Feb 7 in New York as part of its Masters Week of auctions. “‘Strad’ is… like a household name for the violin… like the Picasso of the violin world,” Helena Newman, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, said in London, where the violin went on public display on Friday.

“We are estimating the violin in the region of 12 to 18 million dollars, which sits comfortably within the record price already achieved for a Strad…” Stradivari’s violins, which can sell for millions of dollars, are known for their exquisite craftsmanship, with the most sought-after from his 1700-1720 “Golden Period”.

The 1721 “Lady Blunt” Stradivarius sold for a record $15.9 million in 2011. Before Ma, 19th-century violinist Joseph Joachim owned the instrument. Joachim was a close collaborator of composer Johannes Brahms and “almost certainly” performed on the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” at the 1879 premiere of Brahms “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77”, Sotheby’s said.

The violin will also go on display in Hong Kong and New York before the auction.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025