The Messiah - Salabue Stradivarius of 1716 is a violin made by the Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. It is considered to be the only Stradivarius in existence in as "new" state.[1] The neck has been lengthened and at minimum the bass bar, bridge, tailpiece, and pegs have been replaced. It is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England.
The violin, known as the Messiah (Messie in French), remained in Stradivari's workshop until his death in 1737. It was then sold by his son Paolo to Count Cozio di Salabue in 1775, and for a time, the violin bore the name Salabue. The instrument was then purchased by Luigi Tarisio in 1827. Upon Tarisio’s death in 1854, the French luthier Jean Baptiste Vuillaume of Paris purchased The Messiah along with Tarisio's entire collection. "One day Tarisio was discoursing with Vuillaume on the merits of this unknown and marvelous instrument, when the violinist Jean-Delphin Alard, Vuillaume's son-in-law, exclaimed: 'Really, Mister Tarisio, your violin is like the Messiah of the Jews: one always expects him but he never appears' ('Vraiment, Monsieur Tarisio, votre violon est comme le Messie des Juifs: on l'attend toujours, mais il ne paraît jamais').[2] Thus the violin was titled with the name by which it is still known."[3]
The Messiah was bequeathed by the family of W.E. Hill to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for preservation as "a yardstick for future violin makers to learn from".[1]
- ^ a b "'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius of 1721". Andrew Hill. tarisio.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ^ Stradivarius, Dirk J Balfoort, Sidgwick and Jackson, London (undated)
- ^ The Hill Collection of Musical Instruments, David D. Boyden, Oxford University Press, London, 1969