A violin crafted by the renowned Antonio Stradivari in 1714 has the potential to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it goes up for auction on Friday at Sotheby's in New York.
The auction house estimates the value of the "Joachim-Ma Stradivarius" at $12 to $18 million. If it sells at the higher end of that range, it could surpass the $15.9 million paid in 2011 for another Stradivarius, the "Lady Blunt," made in 1721 and recognized by Guinness World Records as the most expensive instrument ever sold at auction.
Mari-Claudia Jimenez, Sotheby's Americas president and global head of fine arts, said Stradivari made the violin during his "golden period," which began around 1700 and was marked by an improvement in his craftsmanship.
"So this is the peak of his production," Jimenez said. "This is the best violin from that era."
Sotheby's says the violin's preservation is remarkable and its ownership history extraordinary.
It is named after two of its famous owners - virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim of Hungary, who lived from 1831 to 1907, and Si-Hon Ma, born in China in 1926, moved to the United States in 1948 and died in 2009.
Legendary composer Johannes Brahms is believed to have been influenced by the Joachim-Ma when he wrote his "Violin Concerto in D Major" because of its rich, resonant tone, and Joachim played this violin at the 1879 premiere of the Concerto, according to Sotheby's.
Ma acquired the violin in 1969, and his estate donated it to the New England Conservatory in Boston after his death. Ma attended the Conservatory, where he earned a master's degree in 1950. The Conservatory is now auctioning the violin, with all proceeds going to student scholarships.