We examine the influence of the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari on Jean Baptiste Vuillaume and Lot 157 of the March 2012 London auction.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence of the 1716 ‘Messiah’ Stradivari on the past two centuries of violin making. Since it first appeared in Count Cozio’s notebooks in the late 18^th century it has existed as a sort of ‘gold standard’ of Stradivari’s work perfectly preserved. It has served as muse to scores of violin makers, among them Giuseppe Rocca, J. B. Vuillaume, the W. E. Hill workshop and many others.

The ‘Messiah’ first arrived in Paris in 1855 after Vuillaume purchased it from the collection of the Italian dealer Luigi Tarisio. Even before its arrival the violin was nicknamed the ‘Messiah’ by Vuillaume’s son-in-law, the violinist Jean-Delphin Alard, for its mythical perfection which never arrived.

Vuillaume made many excellent copies of the ‘Messiah’ and invariably used some of his finest materials and most careful craftsmanship. This particular example dating from 1873 is in many ways a faithful imitation; the quality and orientation of the deeply flamed maple back and ribs, the black outlining of the scroll chamfers, the generously spaced ‘f’s, the wide edges and broad corners all closely copy the 1716 original. This violin even retains its original pegs from the Vuillaume workshop, similar to those that Vuillaume fitted on the ‘Messiah’ itself.

All proceeds to benefit the Pacific Symphony Santiago String Youth Orchestra A FINE FRENCH VIOLIN BY JEAN BAPTISTE VUILLAUME, PARIS, 1873, A COPY OF THE ‘MESSIAH’ STRADIVARI ‡ Labelled, “Jean Baptiste Vuillaume…1873″ and “Imitation précise de Stradivarius du Comte Cozio de Salabue, daté 1716, “Le Messie” fait par Jean Baptiste Vuillaume.” Bearing the serial number to the inside back, “2952.” Bearing the original Vuillaume end button and pegs, the shaft of one of which is currently broken. LOB 35.6 cm *All proceeds to benefit the Pacific Symphony Santiago String Youth Orchestra for the purpose of need based scholarships and commissioning new works.

Estimate: £70,000–100,000

The Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings
pacificsymphony.org

All proceeds from the sale of this Vuillaume violin will be donated to benefit the Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings (PSSS), for the purposes of scholarships and commissioning new works.

The PSSS is a flourishing and ambitious youth orchestra based in California’s Orange County. Its members benefit from coaching by professional Pacific Symphony musicians and a chance to study a wide repertoire of string orchestra music. It was founded in 1991 as the Santiago Strings Youth Orchestra and became part of the Pacific Symphony set of youth ensembles in 2007.