How’s this for sweet music to the ears? Lady Blunt, a rare
1721 Stradivarius has gone under the
hammer to an anonymous collector with a big heart and big pockets—the
instrument went for a record-busting US$15.9 million at Tarisio at their June
20 auction, more than four times the previous record for a violin crafted by
the celebrated Italian craftsman.

The Lady Blunt also boasts pedigree historical ownership: it
was in the hands of Lady Anne Blunt, the granddaughter of the canonical English
poet Lord Byron, for more than 30 years. The violin, one of 600 still in
existence, is said to be in pristine condition, and extremely valuable for the
retention of the original varnish and visible marks of Antonio Stradivari on
its maple and spruce body.

The Lady Blunt was offered for sale by the Nippon Music
Foundation, owners of some of the world’s finest Stradivari and Guarneri
instruments. “While this violin
was very important to our collection, the needs of our fellow Japanese people
after the March 11 tragedy have proven that we all need to help, in any way we
can,” the Foundation’s president, Kazuko Shiomi, said in a
statement. The violin was one of just 21 string instruments held by the
foundation, which loans instruments to the best musicians around the world.

This sale marks the first time the Lady Blunt has sold
publicly since 1971, when it was sold at Sotheby’s for £84,000, also a world
record at the time.

Tariso