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The Red Violin

Sotheby’s is hoping to create auction magic with the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, which is named for its best-known former owners and can bring its players to tears with its sound. The auction house is expecting at least $12 million—and given the scarcity in the ultra high-end violin market, it could go higher.

Strad Violin
The market for antique, high-end violins is defined by scarcity: Stradivari made about 650 violins in his lifetime, of which fewer than 500 survived. Meanwhile, the market has increased over the past 40 years, from the low hundred thousands to the low eight figures. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Julie Brener Davich
January 31, 2025

For art collectors, there are few movies that better capture the romance of the auction house than The Red Violin, in which Samuel L. Jackson plays an appraiser summoned to assess an instrument suspected to be the famed “Red Violin”—the final violin made by the fictional Italian luthier Nicolò Bussotti. The movie follows the instrument through the centuries, from its maker’s workshop in 17th century Cremona, Italy, to its subsequent owners in Austria, England, and China, before ending up in Canada for sale. It’s a beloved, and underappreciated, classic.