Count Ignacio Alejandro Cozio di Salabue (1755-1840) - one of the greatest violin collectors of all time - is one of my heroes. Luigi Tarisio (1790-1854) too. If you're reading this, you must know both of these famous men - famous and popular among musicians who care and may even be passionate about violins - the mystery of their origin and construction. It has been said that chess, like women, is a great mystery. So too, are violins, especially the great and priceless Stradivarius "Messiah," housed in a British museum, which I believe to be a fake (the violin, not the museum). It's quite possible that Don Antonio constructed a "Messiah" violin - what has been called near-perfect - sometime during his golden period (1700-1720), 1716 to be exact. Nevertheless, that violin and the one on display in the British Ashmolean Museum are probably not one and the same. It was supposedly sold by Paolo Stradivari (Antonio's third son) to Count Cozio (in 1775) who later sold it to Tarisio (in 1827), who never parted with it but whose relatives, after his death, sold it to (French violin maker) J.B. Vuillaume (in 1854). Stewart Pollens, at that time a conservator with the Metropolitan Museum in New York, did a fairly thorough examination of this famous fiddle - at the invitation of the Ashmolean - which led him to conclude that it (the violin on display) could not possibly be the "Messiah." These findings were first published way back in 1998, to the great consternation of the museum directors (and others). Any further research pending and also to be conducted by Mr Pollens was suddenly stopped - probably by interests which had a great deal to lose, had it ever been conclusively proved that the thing inside the glass case was not actually as old as it had to have been in order to bear the Stradivari name. Remember, this priceless gem passed through the hands of the greatest violin copyist in history - Juan Bautista Vuillaume (1798-1875). It is fairly well-known that he made no fewer than ten copies of this famous "Messiah." In any case, to me, the Ashmolean "Messiah" just looks fake, period - I would guess even to the untrained eye. I have a photo of it posted here on a separate page. Just look at it. Never trust an authority or expert who has something to gain by declaring an artifact to be genuine.
It is anomalies in the provenance of an instrument (the history of ownership) that sometimes lead a person to conclude that a fair amount of skepticism is warranted. As far as can be ascertained, the chain of title for the "Messiah" is as follows:
Antonio Stradivari (1716-1737) Paolo Stradivari (acquired it via inheritance and sold it in 1775) - Cozio (1775-1827) - Tarisio (1827-1854) - J.B. Vuillaume (1854-1875) - Delphin Alard (1875-1890) - W.E. Hill (1890-1891) - Robert Crawford (1891-1897) - Ernest Niccolini (1897-1904) - W.E.Hill (1904-1913) Richard Bennett (1913-1928) - unknown (1929-1930) - W.E. Hill (1931-1939) - Ashmolean (1939-present)
In addition, there are certain serious inconsistencies between the Messiah descriptions jotted down by those who saw it and handled it originally and those given by the latest owner/dealers, namely W.E. Hill and Sons, who actually took the violin apart. Furthermore, the construction itself does not bear certain stylistic earmarks of any Strad of the same period. Having said all this, I need to also tell you that an interesting hypothesis has been advanced by Toby Faber, author of Stradivari's Genius (2004). In Chapter Sixteen of his book, Faber speculates that the famous violin may have been constructed (at least partially, if not entirely) by one of Stradivari's sons, namely Giovanni Battista Stradivari. Giovanni died in 1727, a full ten years before the old man - at age twenty four. That would at least explain why Antonio could never part with the violin - too much sentimental value. Here is one (among many) link that articulates (with much greater scholarship and authority than I could ever possess) other misgivings about this celebrated violin: http://www.soundpostonline.com/archive/winter2001/page7.htm
It is anomalies in the provenance of an instrument (the history of ownership) that sometimes lead a person to conclude that a fair amount of skepticism is warranted. As far as can be ascertained, the chain of title for the "Messiah" is as follows:
Antonio Stradivari (1716-1737) Paolo Stradivari (acquired it via inheritance and sold it in 1775) - Cozio (1775-1827) - Tarisio (1827-1854) - J.B. Vuillaume (1854-1875) - Delphin Alard (1875-1890) - W.E. Hill (1890-1891) - Robert Crawford (1891-1897) - Ernest Niccolini (1897-1904) - W.E.Hill (1904-1913) Richard Bennett (1913-1928) - unknown (1929-1930) - W.E. Hill (1931-1939) - Ashmolean (1939-present)
In addition, there are certain serious inconsistencies between the Messiah descriptions jotted down by those who saw it and handled it originally and those given by the latest owner/dealers, namely W.E. Hill and Sons, who actually took the violin apart. Furthermore, the construction itself does not bear certain stylistic earmarks of any Strad of the same period. Having said all this, I need to also tell you that an interesting hypothesis has been advanced by Toby Faber, author of Stradivari's Genius (2004). In Chapter Sixteen of his book, Faber speculates that the famous violin may have been constructed (at least partially, if not entirely) by one of Stradivari's sons, namely Giovanni Battista Stradivari. Giovanni died in 1727, a full ten years before the old man - at age twenty four. That would at least explain why Antonio could never part with the violin - too much sentimental value. Here is one (among many) link that articulates (with much greater scholarship and authority than I could ever possess) other misgivings about this celebrated violin: http://www.soundpostonline.com/archive/winter2001/page7.htm
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