Messiah Stradivarius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Messiah Strad (also known as Le Messie) is a violin made by luthier Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy in 1716.
The Messiah remained in the Stradivarius workshop until his death in 1737. It was then sold by his son Paolo to Count Cozio di Salabue in 1775. It was also called Salabue after the count. It was then purchased by Luigi Tarisio in 1827. Famous French luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume of Paris purchased the Messiah along with Tarisio's entire collection upon Tarisio’s death in 1854. Vuillaume's son-in-law named it Le Messie because, he said, "[this] violin is like the Messiah of the Jews, because one always waits for him but he never appears."
The Messiah eventually was bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. As a condition in the will of the former owner, the Museum can never allow the violin to be played.
Today, the violin remains unplayed and is almost in its original state as when it was made in 1716. This has made it one of the most valuable of all the Stradivarius instruments.
The Messiah’s authenticity has been called into question by Stewart Pollens, a conservator of musical instruments at the Metropolitan Museum. The debate has not been resolved.
[edit] See also
- Stradivarius (includes a list of Stradivari’s instruments)
