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June auctions see Stradivari and ‘del Gesù’ violins command high prices
On 3 June a violin made in 1736 by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ sold for €3.3m (£2.85m) in Paris, at a sale organised by Claude Aguttes. Less than a week later, on 9 June the 1714 ‘da Vinci, ex-Seidel’ Stradivari violin sold at Tarisio for $15.34m (£12.29m).
The Guarneri (right), formerly owned by French violinist Régis Pasquier, was bought by an anonymous musician. ‘This violin was seen and examined by great musicians who came to the exhibition and it was a musician who bought it,’ said Aguttes after the sale. ‘One of the seller’s wishes was that the instrument should “continue to live”. As this is the case, I am delighted.’
This was the first violin from Guarneri’s mature period to have come up for sale in the 21st century. Pasquier, who played the violin for more than 20 years in concert halls around the world, said he saw parting with the violin as his way of passing the baton to the next generation of musicians. ‘It has an exceptional resonance,’ he said.
GUARNERI PHOTO COURTESY AGUTTES
The ‘da Vinci, ex-Seidel’ Stradivari concluded after a dynamic and competitive bidding process. The final price of the violin constitutes the second-highest amount ever paid for a Stradivari violin at auction, following the 2011 record-breaking sale – also by Tarisio – of the 1721 ‘Lady Blunt’ for $15.9m. It has been 15 years since a violin from Stradivari’s ‘golden period’ has been offered at auction. The violin is concert-ready, retaining its original parts, and remains in pristine condition. For almost forty years it was the principal performing instrument of Russian–American virtuoso Toscha Seidel.