The 1790 French instrument had been taken during a Philadelphia house robbery

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A viola recently stolen from a musician in Philadelphia has been found smashed to pieces in a vacant lot. The instrument was taken along with three laptops earlier this month from the Powelton home of owner Nancy Drye, who performs as a community member with the University of Pennsylvania Orchestra. Valued at $9,000 in 2008 and thought to be made in Paris in 1790, the viola has been in Drye’s possession since 1978. ‘It's very precious to me, and it's going to be hard to replace,’ she told Philadelphia’s Action News. ‘It feels like a death in the family.’ Watch a news report about the theft below:

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