The ''Lady of Tennant-Lafont Stradivarius'' is an

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

violin made by the Italian

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

Antonio Stradivari Antonio Stradivari (, also , ; – 18 December 1737) was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps. The Latinisation of names, Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', a ...

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

in 1699, one year before the beginning of his so-called 'golden' period. ''Lady Tennant'' was once owned by the nineteenth century violinist,

Charles Philippe Lafont Charles Philippe Lafont (1 December 178123 August 1839) was a French violinist and composer. He has been characterized as one of the most eminent violinists of the French school.See Family Tree, under External links Biography Born in Paris, he re ...

, contemporary of

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

. After the death of Lafont, the violin was acquired by the London violin dealer W.E. Hill & Sons, who in turn sold it to Sir Charles Clow Tennant. This Scottish businessman presented the violin to his wife, Marguerite Agaranthe Miles Tennant, an amateur violinist, as a gift. On April 22, 2005, the ''Lady Tennant'' sold for a record

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

2,032,000 at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

auction in New York City and was presented on loan to violinist Yang Liu through the auspices of the Stradivari Society of Chicago. In 2009 it was given on loan to Belgian violinist Yossif Ivanov. It is currently played by Korean-American violinist Julian Rhee, on loan by the Mary B. Galvin Foundation and aided by the efforts of the Stradivari Society.

See also