Got a spare £6m to buy a violin? Rare Stradivarius once owned by Wombourne family up at auction
A rare Stradivarius violin once owned by a Wombourne family is set to go under the hammer for millions of pounds.
The ‘Hellier’ Stradivarius crafted in 1679 is expected to sell for between a cool £6m-£9m at the Christie's sale next month.
The violin described as Antonio Stradivari's "finest inlaid violin" remained in the Hellier family for almost two centuries.
Violin maker Stradivari is thought to have refused to sell the instrument for 55 years until he let it go in a 1734 sale for £40 to the landscape designer and musicologist Sir Samuel Hellier, of Wodehouse, in Wombourne.
It is now believed that the instrument may have entered the Staffordshire family sometime earlier as the 1719 will of John Hellier, of Westminster, bequeathed two Cremona violins’ to his nephew Samuel Hellier, the father of Sir Samuel.
Its design became a blueprint of future generations of violin makers.
The Christie's website states: "It is the finest inlaid violin ever made by the world renowned genius-craftsman Antonio Stradivari and one of the finest Stradivarius instruments in existence - estimate £6,000,000-9,000,000.
"An extremely rare and important example of Stradivari’s work."
The violin is due to be offered at auctioneer's The Exceptional Sale on July 7 and a highlight of it's London Classic Week. It will be on view at Christie’s London in The Art of Literature June from 6 to 15.
Christie's international head of masterpiece and private sales Amjad Rauf says: “Christie’s is honoured to be offering the ‘Hellier’ violin, a rare masterpiece executed circa 1679 by the genius craftsman Antonio Stradivari, which is without doubt his finest inlaid violin.
"Previously in the greatest collections of musical instruments, and latterly on loan to the Smithsonian Museum, this remarkable lot presents the market with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that exemplifies the best-of-the-best works that are synonymous with The Exceptional Sale.”
Georgian landscaper Sir Samuel Hellier was known to have spent a great deal of money on collecting a musical treasure trove of instruments and newly published works. He died in 1751.
