Message from Brooline, Mass., violin dealer Christopher Reuning:
My take on the sale of the Joachim, Ma Stradivari sold at Sotheby’s:
The hammer price of $10M may have been well below the over hyped publicity surrounding the sale, but it was a very strong result for this violin by all measures. Most importantly, it was great for the New England Conservatory who will put these funds to important use.
We have cared for this violin since the weekend of Sihon Ma’s death when I was summoned to collect the violin from his home in Philadelphia and store it in my vault for safe keeping. After that, I arranged for it to be exhibited at the museum in Cremona and ultimately aided in its acquisition by NEC. From that point, we cared for the violin during the loan periods of several of NEC’s best violinists until it finally came time to advice that it be pulled out of circulation in order to receive a much needed restoration. This very big restoration job was done at my recommendation by John Becker of Chicago who did a tremendous transformation of the top which ranks as one of the most genius jobs I have ever seen.
While I am not in favor of the exaggerations of the auction house, I am thrilled that it sold ultimately for a price that was exactly in line with what most knowledgeable professionals including myself believed it should. It was a good day for a lucky buyer and a great day for the New England Conservatory.
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