One of the last violins to be created by Italian master craftsman, Guarneri del Gesù, has been put up for sale by violin dealer and restorer, Bein & Fushi of Chicago, Ill., at an asking price of $18 million. Dubbed the "Mona Lisa of violins," the Vieuxtemps was made in 1741 by Guarneri del Gesù (1698-1744), said to be the finest violin maker of the Amati line.
If the Vieuxtemps Guarneri achieves its reserve, it will become the most expensive musical instrument in the world, with the previous record price being just over half the instrument's asking price. Only about 140 of Guarneri del Gesù's violins survive today, compared to 640 made by Antonio Stradivari. The violin is being sold by retired British financier and music philanthropist, Ian Stoutzker, who bought it from Sir Isaac Wolfson, founder of Wolfson College, Oxford, England.
For more information, visit www.beinfushi.com |
