The price for the 1715 instrument, crafted in Stradivari’s ‘golden period’, is the highest for any violin in history
The 1715 ‘Baron Knoop’ violin by Antonio Stradivari has been sold to an anonymous buyer for $23 million (£17.8 million) – the highest amount ever paid for a violin. The instrument was previously owned by US collector David L. Fulton, who bought it in February 1992 for $2.75 million.
‘The fiddle deserves this accolade,’ Fulton told The Strad. ‘It’s one of the very greatest Strads, and my favourite violin of all.’ The ‘Baron Knoop’, which was featured in The Strad Calendar 2024, has a two-piece back of maple with a handsomely marked broad figure, extending slightly down from the centre joint. The top is of two pieces of spruce. The ribs and scroll are of similar wood, and the scroll chamfers still retain Stradivari’s black edging.
The sale was facilitated by Joseph Bein of Bein and Co, with Peter Biddulph and Lilly Camden acting as Fulton’s agents. Although the Fulton collection numbered 27 great instruments, most of them have now been sold, with the remainder becoming part of the David and Amy Fulton Foundation. These include a 1793 Guadagnini viola and an 1898 Voller Brothers copy of the 1735 ‘d’Egville’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’.
Read: The man of property: Who was Baron Johann Knoop?
Read: One serious collection: the instruments of Baron Knoop
Read: The Fulton collection: Magnificent obsession
Read: The Strad Calendar 2024: 1715 ‘Baron Knoop’ Antonio Stradivari violin
Of the ‘Baron Knoop’, Fulton told The Strad in 2022: ‘Tonally there are no better violins; equally fine perhaps, but none better. Of all the instruments I’ve owned, I’d call this one the most happy-sounding.’ He added: ‘The ‘Knoop’ was also old Baron Knoop’s favourite instrument. I think this is because he, like me, was a passionate amateur rather than a professional, and this violin is very responsive and exceptionally easy to play.’
When Fulton acquired the violin, it was covered in French polish and had been the victim of a bad varnish retouch, coating the instrument in deep orange–red varnish. It took restorer John Becker three months to clean off the additions to reveal the rich original varnish beneath.
With this sale, the ‘Baron Knoop’ violin overtakes the previous record-holder, the 1741 ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’, which was sold in 2013. The ‘Vieuxtemps’ is on lifetime loan to US violinist Anne Akiko Meyers.
All photos courtesy David L. Fulton
Read: The ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
Read: Anne Akiko Meyers on playing the ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
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