Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, c. 1709, the 'Mendelssohn'
Violin: 46611
Showing the hand of Stradivari's son Omobono.
Back: One-piece
Length of back: 35.5 cm
Upper bouts: 16.7 cm
Middle bouts: 11.1 cm
Lower bouts: 20.5 cm
Reported stolen on Jan 1, 1945
There are 4 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
Reported stolen from the Deutsche Bank in Berlin "on the occasion of the occupation of Berlin.... It bears an authentic inscription of the year 1709. ... It is generally known as the small Mendelssohn Stradivari. It was valued at RM 80,000 in 1930."Stolen instrument notice, The Strad, September, 1958, London
"The 1709 Stradivari was last documented on December 18, 1940 as being located at 51 Jägerstrasse, Berlin, a Mendelssohn property taken over by the Nazis for the Reich Finance Ministry. Lilli Mendelssohn-Bohnke’s son, Walter Bohnke, reported that the Stradivari was stolen from the Deutsche Bank in Berlin upon the 1945 occupation of Berlin, but records from the Deutsche Bank Archive suggest the violin may have vanished before this." - Carla Shapreau, Carteggio feature Sept 2015
The Strad, November 2013: "In an article from 2009, Carla Shapreau exposes the systematic theft of stringed instruments under Hitler's rule, and today's efforts to locate them..." https://www.thestrad.com/lutherie/the-stolen-instruments-of-the-third-reich/5470.article
Stolen instrument notice, The Strad, September, 1958, London
This violin was duplicated in the archive, first as the stolen "Mendelssohn" Stradivari and also as the "Stella". The two records were deduped on June 26, 2025.
Provenance
| until 1928 | Emile Bohnke and Lilli von Mendelssohn |
| 1928-c. 1945 | Mendelssohn family |
| from c. 1945 | Reported stolen |
| in 1995 | Sold by Bernard Sabatier |
| in 2000 | Anonymous |
| in 2005 | Current owner |
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: Machold Rare Violins, Ltd, Vienna (2005) X-4273. Attributes the scroll to one of Stradivari's sons.- Certificate: Machold Rare Violins, Ltd, Vienna (2004) X-4399. Attributes the scroll to Francesco Stradivari
- Certificate: John & Arthur Beare, London (2000) States instrument made under the direction of Antonio and shows the hand of Omobono
- Letter: Charles Beare, London (1997)
- Certificate: John & Arthur Beare, London (1995) Attributes the instrument to Omobono Stradivari, "made under the direction of Antonio. . ."
- Certificate: W. H. Hammig & Co., Berlin (1930) Certificate No. 691
Certificate: Machold Rare Violins, Ltd, Vienna (2005) X-4273. Attributes the scroll to one of Stradivari's sons.
Letter: Charles Beare, London (1997)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
- Private Papers
The Strad, September, 1958, London (illustrated)- Tarisio Musical Instruments Auction Catalog, November 10, 2000, Tarisio, Tarisio, New York (illustrated)
The Strad, September, 1958, London (illustrated)
