Violin Sets Auction Record

On May 16, 2006, a violin made by Antonio Stradavari in 1707 set a new world auction record for musical instruments with an anonymous buyer's winning bid of $3.5 million (USD) at Christie's Fine Musical Instruments sale (No. 1648). The violin, known as The Hammer (named after 19th century Swedish collector Christian Hammer), took the world title from another Stradavari, The Lady Tennant, which was sold by Christie's in 2005 for $2 million (USD). Only 620 Stradavari violins exist today, with The Hammer being a well preserved instrument from Stradavari's Golden Period (1700-1720). Guitars were also featured in the sale that saw a 1960 Gibson Les Paul fetch $192,00 and a 1948 Herman Hauser classical guitar bring $180,000, a new world auction record for a Hauser. The auction itself also set a record for total sales. According to Kerry Keane, the head of Christie's musical instruments department, "At $5.5 million it is the highest sale total in musical instrument auction history, and it firmly establishes the U.S. and New York, in particular, as the center of the fine musical instrument market."