The Strad Calendar 2027: c.1689 ‘Ragin’ Stradivari violin

Launched in 1990, the Anders Sveaas Charitable Foundation is one of the principal arts funders in Norway. The Strad Calendar 2027 celebrates its work by showcasing twelve of the finest instruments it loans out to players all over the Nordic region – including eleven by Antonio Stradivari.

c.1689 ‘Ragin’ Stradivari violin

The c.1689 ‘Ragin’ Stradivari violin is named after the Norwegian violinist Ragin Wenk-Wolff, who owned the instrument from 1980 until its purchase by the foundation in 2022. The New York dealer Jacques Francais dated the violin to around 1689, describing it as ‘a characteristic example of the maker’s work from the 1688–1699 period’, despite bearing an original label dated 1696. Francais asserted that all parts of the violin were original, with the exception of the scroll, which is of the late 19th century. With a back length of 356mm, the violin was probably built on the ‘PG’ mould and retains plenty of its original orange–brown varnish. It has a two-piece top plate with a fine grain widening towards the edges, and a one-piece back of medium-wide flame sloping downward to the right. Stradivari’s debt to Nicolò Amati is still evident in this instrument, although there are several details that mark out his developing style, such as the broader edges and slightly shorter corners, which are pointed more towards the centre. The instrument was only confirmed as a Stradivari in the mid-20th century, leaving its provenance before that time somewhat mysterious.

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Photos: Magnus Nedregård