Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, c. 1702, the 'King Maximilian Joseph'


Violin: 40080

Labeled, "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat anno 17__."

Branded to the upper block. Branded to the button. Inscribed to the inside upper rib.

Back: Two-piece

Top: of medium grain

Ribs: of wide curl

Length of back: 34.7 cm

Upper bouts: 15.7 cm

Middle bouts: 10.6 cm

Lower bouts: 19.5 cm

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Notes:

"The violin Mr. Korfker has been playing since 1998, is the "King Maximilian Joseph" Stradivarius made by Antonio Stradivari in 1703. The history of this instrument is documented from the time it was in the possession of "Maximilian I Joseph Wittelsbach" (1756-1825), King of Bavaria from 1806 to 1825. The instruments from his collection were played by musicians of the Royal Opera House in Munich. The brand-mark "MJ" on the back of the violin bears witness to the King´s ownership. It can be seen at the top, right corner of this frame.

Later, the "Max-Joseph" came into the hands of the Royal instrument maker Franz Rampftler in Munich, after which the Bavarian judge von Knörzinger and his family owned it for many years. In 1925 the Stradivarius was bought by Victor Mannheimer, at the time a resident of Berlin, who dies three years later. In the book How Many Strads (1945) the violin is described as being in the possession of his family in Amsterdam. Victor Mannheimer's wife and children survive the Second World War and emigrate to the United States before 1950. They finally sell the instrument in 1961 to Irving Levick, an American violin collector living in New York.

In 1998 the Stradivarius eventually returned to the Netherlands through the effort of a Dutch patron who acquired the instrument for Mr. Korfker. In 2001 a new Patron decided to bring the "Maximilian-Joseph" into the Stradivari Society with the aim of continuing the lifetime loan to Berent Korfker through this prestigious organisation."

Berent Korfker website


Emil Herrmann notes: Dates the instrument to circa 1685-90.

The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Washington, DC

Provenance

Sold by Hamma & Co.
Anonymous
1745-1777 Maximilian Joseph III of Bavaria
... ...
1799-1825 King Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria
... ...
from 1864 King Ludwig II of Bavaria
from 1886 Franz Rampftler
1920-1923 von Knörzinger and his family
from 1923 Hug & Co.
1925-1928 Victor Mannheimer
from 1928 Mannheimer family
in 1947 Marc E. Maartens
until 1961 Alice Mannheimer
in 1961 Sold by Rembert Wurlitzer Inc.
1961-1998 Irving Levick
in 1996 Mary Galvin (Stradivari Society)
in 2000 Fredrik Dirk Korfker
... ...
from 2007 Current owner

Known players

Andreas Reiner, Berent Korfker

Certificates & Documents

  • Dendrochronology report: Peter Ratcliff, London (2023) Latest original ring dates from 1668; one-piece front. Printed report available for purchase upon request.
  • Certificate: John & Arthur Beare (photocopy), London (2007)
  • Certificate: Rembert Wurlitzer Inc. (photocopy), New York, NY (1961)
  • Certificate: Hamma & Co. (photocopy), Stuttgart (1925)
  • Certificate: Hug & Co. (photocopy), Zurich

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

  • Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Jost Thöne Verlag, Cologne, 2010 (illustrated)
  • Bein & Fushi 1997 Calendar, Bein & Fushi, Inc, Bein & Fushi, Chicago (illustrated)
  • Bein & Fushi 1999 Calendar, Bein & Fushi, Inc, Bein & Fushi, Chicago (illustrated)
  • Berent Korfker website
  • Correspondence with Andreas Reiner, April, 2010
  • Italian Violin Makers (1964), Karel Jalovec, Paul Hamlyn, London, 1964 (illustrated)
  • Ars Musica, Aloys Greither, Bayer AG, Heft 10 (illustrated)
  • Meisterwerke Italienischer Geigenbaukunst, Fridolin Hamma, Hamma & Co., Stuttgart (illustrated)
  • The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
  • Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)

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