The Messiah-Salabue Stradivarius of 1716 is considered to be the only Stradivarius in existence in as new state. The Messiah, sobriquet Le Messie, remained in the Stradivarius workshop until his death in 1737. In 1854, French luthier Vuillaume of Paris purchased The Messiah. “One day Tarisio was discoursing to Vuillaume on the merits of this unknown and marvelous instrument, when the violinist Jean-Delphin Alard exclaimed: ‘Then your violin is like the Messiah: one always expects him but he never appears’. Thus the violin was baptized with the name by which it is still known.”

The original Messiah violin is in like-new condition, as it was seldom played. However it was played by the famous violinist Joseph Joachim, who states he was struck by the combined sweetness and grandeur of the sound. It is one of the most valuable of all the Stradivari instruments.

The Construction and Materials of this Violin:

· Varnish: Hand varnished
· Top: Aged spruce dried for 15 years
· Back: Selected Seasoned Flamed Maple Back dried for 15 years
· Fitting: Boxwood fittings
· Fingerboard: Ebony
· Soundpost: European spruce
· String: Synthetic string
· Purfling: Hand inlay
The Dimensions of the violin are:

– body length: 355mm; lower bout: 206mm; upper bout: 166mm; middle: 110mm.
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