Violins/Fiddles: Stradivarius

Subject: Judy
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 21:48:23 -0800

HELLO,
I'M JUST CURIOUS, ARE THE COPIED ANTONIO STRADIVARIOS VIOLINS WORTH ANYTHING? I HAVE TWO FROM GERMANY AND ONE FROM CHEZCOSLAVIA (SPELLING WRONG) OF THAT COUNTRY...SORRY. LABELS IN ALL THREE STATING WHERE THEY WERE MADE AND STATING COPIED.
THANK YOU,
JUDY
ALSO I UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES THE BOWS ARE WORTH MORE THAN A VIOLIN. ANYTHING I NEED TO LOOK FOR? WHAT ABOUT VERY OLD WOODEN VIOLIN CASES?

Sure, Stradivarius copies are always worth something...depending on condition, age, tone, etc. German-made copies, from 75-100 years old, can bring anywhere from 500-1000 on average...some more and some less. Keep in mind, the only real way to tell what your violin is worth, is to have it properly appraised.

Yes, bows can be worth more than the violin...you'll have to consult with an appraiser to find out though...Mickey

Subject: Help!

I need to know, for a Music Appreciation class at the University of Puerto Rico, what would be the price for a 17th century Stradivarious.

Thanks, with appreciation,

Clemente Bobonis

Greetings Clemente,

I'm not too sure about any estimation of value...there are many variables to consider:
1. exact year
2. condition
3. tonal quality

All of the above would be a determining factor, along with many other criteria, in an exact value description...

Interestingly, in May 2004, an original 17th Century Stradivarius Cello was stolen...and its value was estimated to be at 3.5 million...

Today, on average, a Stradivarius will bring from $25,000.00 to $200,000.00 in value...a rarer specimen, in fine condition, could bring substantially more. Hence, you can see that there's a disparity in values and the variables listed above will assist in narrowing down a value...for your music appreciation class, I'd just state that a Stradivarius brings upwards of $200,000.00 +.

From Berkeley:
Antonio Stradivari, maker of Stradivarius violins, is probably the most famous violin maker ever. He was probably born in 1644 in Cremona, Italy. We don't know this for certain though, since his birth certificate was destroyed. When he was a child, he served as an apprentice to Nicolo Amati before he began making violins at the age of eleven. In his early years, Stradivari made plucked instruments such as harps, guitars, and lutes. In 1666, Stradivari began putting his own labels on his instruments, with the Latin name Stradivarius. When he was twenty-three years old, in 1667, he married a widow four years older than he. They adopted a child, then had another six. His wife died in 1698 and Stradivari remarried in 1699. The couple had four children. two of Stradivari's sons, Fransesco and Omobono, helped their father make violins. In 1684, Amati died and Stradivari changed his violin design to have an orange tint with a more powerful form. He then opened a shop next to Amati's. stradivari's first pupil was Giovanni Guadagnini whose father, Lorenzo, became Stradivari's assistant. He later gained a second student, Carlos Bergonzi. In 1690, Stradivari adopted the "long pattern"; it had a flatter, narrower bouts, darker tone, darker color, stronger arches in the front and back, and a bodylength one quarter longer than usual. Stradivari's style again changed in 1700 when he began to use a finer selection of reddish brown varnish. Stradivari's "Golden Period," from 1714 to 1720, was when he created his finest instruments. These pieces of art had an amber color, a flamed maple back, fabulous tone, and an excellent ease of response. Some of the violins made in this period were the Betts, Alard, and the Messiah. The violin-maker continued his work past the age of ninety. Antonio Stradivari died December 18, 1737 in Cremona, Italy at the age of ninety-three. Throughout his lifetime, he made 1,116 instruments including twenty-five violas, one hundred cellos, two guitars, and six-hundred violins. Today, 450 violins, 60 cellos, and 13 violas. The value of a Stradivarius violin ranges from $25,000 to over $200,000.

http://www-atdp.berkeley.edu/2030/jmoriuchi/violin-famousviolinmakers.html