A 308-year-old "Stradivarius violin" by prominent Italian violin-maker Antonio Stradivari will go on sale at an online auction. The violin is expected to sell for between $15 million and $20 million.
According to Bloomberg, the violin will be unveiled on June 9 by the fine instrument auction house Tarisio. The violin, called "da Vinci, Ex-Seidel," was bought by Russian-American virtuoso Toscha Seidel for $25,000 and used for 40 years.
Violins by Antonio Stradivari, who lived in Italy's Cremona in the 17th century and is among the three most important violinists to have ever lived, are considered some of the most beautiful of their kind and are known as the "Stradivarius violin."
Stradivari produced 512 violins and a total of 1,100 instruments until he died in 1737, and also crafted instruments such as cellos, violas and harps.
The famous violin, which is said to have been used in the "Wizard of Oz" soundtrack and recordings in major orchestras around the world, will be shown in London, Berlin, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo before returning to New York for the auction.
Currently, 650 Stradivari's signature instruments are in museums or private collections, and they are worth a fortune.
In 2011, a 1721 Stradivarius violin of Lady Anne Blunt, the granddaughter of the famous English poet Lord Byron, sold for nearly $16 million at auction.
The research published by Proceedings of the Royal Society journal in 2015 revealed that Stradivari owes his fame to a modeling error while producing the violins, making the F-hole longer than usual, which accidentally caused Stradivarius violins to achieve their distinctive strong and full sound.
The Spanish Inditex clothing company also has a brand called "Stradivarius" quoting a symbol of excellence in the music world to equate the brand's value in the fashion world.
