Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727, the 'Paganini, Comte Cozio di Salabue'
Violin: 40048
Bearing its original label dated 1724.
Back: Two-piece of plain maple, marked by a faint curl slanting downwards from the center
Varnish: Dark red
Length of back: 35.6 cm
Upper bouts: 16.8 cm
Lower bouts: 20.8 cm
There is 1 additional image in the archive which is not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
First violin of the Paganini Quartet. The quartet loaned as a set to the Tokyo Quartet 1995-2013; the Hagen Quartet 2013-2017; and the Quartetto di Cremona 2017- Previously the quartet was played by the Paganini Quartet (1946-1966) and the Cleveland Quartet (1982-1995)Nippon Music Foundation Instruments: Paganini Quartet
Nicolo Paganini was so thrilled by the tone quality of this violin that he declared, "This violin has a tone as big as a double bass; never will I part with it as long as I live." He never did.
The Stringed Instrument Collection in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Shinichi Yokoyama, The Stringed Instrument Collection in the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Cozio's notes: "July 1817. Sold to Professor Nicolò Paganini of Genoa through Sir Carlo Carli of Milan. Printed label with seal as above: anno 1724. Round, strong and warm voice, but still internal. Larger than the usual model. Pale yellowish varnish. Back, sides and neck are made with beautiful open flame. Two-piece back, two-piece top with wide grain. Larger model, low arching both on the back and on the top. Good purfling work, and the F-holes are well made. The neck has been raised by G.B. Guadagnini. Intact, with a small crack on the right hand side of the top, near the tailpiece. It is worth 130 zecchini." (p. 218)
Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Baltimore
Provenance
| 1737-1743 | Francesco Stradivari |
| 1743-1775 | Paolo Stradivari |
| 1775-1817 | Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue |
| 1817-1840 | Nicolò Paganini |
| 1840-1853 | Baron Achille Paganini |
| in 1853 | Sold by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume |
| 1853-1893 | Count de Vireille |
| from 1893 | Gand & Bernardel, Freres |
| Adelina Patti | |
| in 1894 | Ernesto Nicolini |
| until 1896 | George Hart |
| from 1896 and in 1897 | Jan W. L. van Oordt |
| Sold by George Hart | |
| until 1911 | Frederick Smith |
| 1911-1914 | W. E. Hill & Sons |
| 1914-1920 | Felix E. Kahn |
| 1920-1924 | Helen Jeffrey |
| from 1924 | W. E. Hill & Sons |
| from 1926 | Gittelson & Howard |
| until 1942 | Emil Herrmann, New York |
| 1942-1944 | Henry Hottinger |
| 1944-1946 | Emil Herrmann, New York |
| 1946-1964 | Anna E. Clark |
| 1964-1994 | Corcoran Gallery of Arts |
| from 1994 | Nippon Music Foundation |
Known players
Cristiano Gualco, Donald Weilerstein, Henri Temianka, Henry Such, Lukas Hagen, Mikhail Kopelman, William Preucil
Certificates & Documents
Letter: Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris (1853) States that the instrument was once owned by Paganini, who purchased it from Count Cozio di Salabue.
Cozio holds copies of many certificates and other documents, some of which are available to view on request. Please contact us if you wish to view a particular document. (Note that we do not always have permission to share documents.)
References
The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (illustrated)- How Many Strads? (1999 edition), Doring, Bein & Fushi, Bein & Fushi, Chicago, 1999 (illustrated)
- Violins & Violinists, April, 1942, Ernest N. Doring, William Lewis & Son, Chicago (illustrated)
- Le Quatuor Stradivarius "Nicolò Paganini", Claude Lebet, Les Amis de la Musique, Spa (illustrated)
- Memoirs of a Violin Collector: Count Ignazio Alessandro Cozio di Salabue, Brandon Frazier, Baltimore
- Nippon Music Foundation Instrument Recipients
- Nippon Music Foundation Instruments: Paganini Quartet
- Observations
- The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Box 43 (illustrated)
- The Stringed Instrument Collection in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Shinichi Yokoyama, Gakken
- Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)
- Ford Rare Old Violins - 1927 Catalog, W.R. Ford Company, Inc., New York (illustrated)
- We Love Stradivari, NHK (illustrated)