What ever prompted me to do an eBay search on “Stradivarius” is beyond me. Some of the rip-offs made me laugh hard. One auction says the label reads, " Intonius Stradivarius ". -cackle-
I wonder if anyone is dim enough to bid believing they have found a rare masterpiece made in Cremona by the Big Guy Himself.
I have to admit, I’ve held two genuine Strads in my life and don’t remember exactly what the labels said. I DO remember that they were pretty grungy looking ( as one would expect after 300 years… )
Too funny. Anyone ever bought a Strad from a yard sale, eBay, or auction?
Over 3.5 million dollars is the going rate for some of them now. People still play them in orchestras and it is considered a sin just to keep one to look at. Although they were and are excellent instruments, blind tests show that the best violins today can match or exceed a Strad even among the most trained ears. Like most things with musical equipment, true believers do not like scientific comparisons between what they think is the all time best and anything else.
The world’s largest collection of Stradivarius instruments is owned by the King of Spain and is displayed at the Palacio Real de Madrid. The collection includes several violins, violas, and even a cello. (Before seeing it, I didn’t even know there were Stradivarius cellos.) They are regularly played.
A large number of violins have Stradivarius inside basically because the modern form of the instrament is his design. When I was young I once saw a ‘strad’ for sale cheep and I asked a music professor about it and he explained that to me.
Also, basically every Strad is accounted for already.
I saw a “Strad” at a yard sale a couple of years ago. It was one of the junkiest pieces of crap I’ve ever seen, but, sure enough, there was a lable pasted inside which said “Made By Stradivarius, Cremora.” I put it back down with a chuckle, thinking I wish I could be there to see the person who bought it.
Would they look inside, see the lable and give a little gasp. Perhaps they would then give that shifty has-anyone-noticed-what-an-incredible-find-I-have look before walking up to pay their ten dollars with carefully impassive faces. Would they rush home to look up how much Strads are selling for these days and get ultra-exited that their money woes are gone?
It happens. A guy brought a newspaper into the museum a while back. It was framed under glass and was purportedly the front page of a Philadelphia newspaper announcing George Washington’s death. The man said he’d done a lot of research and this was one of only six known copies. He wanted to donate it to us and get a tax credit. He wouldn’t say how much he paid for it, but I imagine it wasn’t cheap from the expression on his face when I gently revealed that it was a replica.
Correct - and some are only useful as firewood. These labels are so widespread as to be meaningless.
Having done the OP’s search, I haven’t seen any obvious deliberate rip-offs. Many are clearly someone who’s got an old violin to get rid of, and no knowledge, many of them admitting this. Others are truthful use of the terms “Stradivarius copy” or “Stradivarius pattern”, which while perhaps rather meaningless for the lay person, is an accurate description of instruments such as this rather nice viola.
It certainly does. I’m friends with a violin dealer, who says his shop gets several calls a month from very excited people, who need to be let down gradually.
I sympathize with your friend, I really do. It’s really hard to watch people slowly crumble into dissapointment when you tell them, that, no, that’s not a original copy of the Constitution they found in granny’s attic, or that this dress can’t have belonged to their ancestor who got married in 1820-- dresses didn’t have zippers back then.
I blame Antiques Roadshow. They need to show more of the “duds.”
One of the better ‘duds’ I saw was a doll collector who presented her collection to the expert. She was very proud of her turn-of-the-century Shirley Temple doll. :rolleyes:
Oh absolutely. I didn’t mean to imply that all of those eBay listings were in the same category as " hey, this is a real Strad, for only $ 1,499.00 !! ".
I dunno if they are all accounted for. Many of the infamous ones have names, but both of my brother’s in law owned and played Strad’s at one time. Well, one had it on long-term loan from the Marlboro Music Foundation, the other owns his outright. Neither is a named instrument. I’m not calling you a liar, I’m just curious to see who has a definitive list of all of the…what was it? over 1,100 violins and violas and cellos that the man built himself.
Prodigious fellow, eh?
This had me laughing hard. Did you ask for sugar with that Cremora ?
Hey, you never know. Shirley Temple was alive and well as of 2005, and may well have had some lovely turn of the century dolls made of her likeness. 'Course, you’re talking about a plush very high quality doll representing a woman past 70, but hey whatever floats your doll-boat.
I met her in about 1991, when she was the ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Very short and pleasant, but does NOT like to be reminded of her child movie star days.
I’ve probably posted this link every time this subject has come up; I just can’t remember. Stradivari produced some 1,200 instruments in his lifetime, of which approximately 700 remain, and nearly all are accounted for.
To answer Baker’s question, the “Hammer” Strad sold at Christie’s in NY for $3.54 million on May 16, 2006, almost doubling the previous record of $2 million for the “Lady Tennant”.
Interestingly, a woman in Croatia found a Strad just last month! Here’s another cite - I couldn’t find anything to indicate whether the tests have proven the violin’s authenticity yet.
