The Hammer Stradivarius is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) of Cremona. The back measures 28 cm (14 in), inside bearing the label: "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis/Faciebat Anno 1707." Dating from 1707, it was made during Stradivari's 'golden' period. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ... Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument, in a Romantic 19th-century print. ... Cremona is a city in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of the Po river in the middle of the Pianura padana (Po valley). ...

It is named for Christian Hammer, a 19th century Swedish collector who is recorded as its first owner. The violin made its way to the United States in 1911 with a violinist and teacher Bernard Sinsheimer. In 1992, it was acquired by a Japanese oil company in an estate sale. The Hammer was on loan to violinist Kyoko Takezawa, who performed with it for the next twelve years. Kyoko Takezawa is a Japanese born violinist. ...

On May 16, 2006, The Hammer made news when it was sold at Christie's auction for US $3,544,000 with a pre-auction estimated value of US $1.5 to US $2.5 million. It is currently the highest price ever paid for a musical instrument in a public sale. The current owner is not known. May 16 is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Christies auction house in South Kensington, London Christies American branch in Rockefeller Center, New York Christies is a fine art auction house, the largest and by some accounts the oldest in the world. ... “USD” redirects here. ...

See also

• Stradivarius

Antonio Stradivari, by Edgar Bundy, 1893: a romanticized image of a craftsman-hero One of the violins in the Stradivarius collection of the Palacio Real, Madrid, Spain A Stradivarius is a stringed instrument built by members of the Stradivari family, especially by Antonio Stradivari. ...

References

• Stradivarius tops auction record. BBC News (17 May 2006). Retrieved on 2006-06-07.
• Associated Press. "Stradivarius violin auctioned for $3.54 mil", msnbc, 16 May 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.