A Stradivarius violin, which can be heard in the soundtracks of various Hollywood films, has been auctioned in New York for 15.3 million dollars, converted 14.6 million euros. It is one of the highest bids ever offered for a musical instrument.
The violin was made in 1714 by the Italian instrument maker Antonio Stradivari and was in the possession of a Japanese collector.
Russian-American musician Toscha Seidel also owned the instrument for a long time and used it for the soundtrack of the Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz (1939) and other films.
The auction house has not disclosed who bought the violin. The record paid for a musical instrument at auction dates back to 2011. At the time, a Stradivarius belonging to Anne Blunt, granddaughter of the poet Lord Byron, was sold in London for nearly $15.9 million. In 2014, another copy, whose minimum price was set at $45 million, was not found at Sotheby’s.