La Pucelle, also known as The Virgin, is a 1709 violin made by

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 Latinized form of his surname, '' Stradivarius'', as well as the col ...

Etymology

It was Parisian dealer,

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

and maker

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. His workshop made over 3,000 instruments. Early life Vuillaume was born in Mirecourt, where his father and gra ...

who gave the instrument its name. In the mid-19th century, Vuillaume disassembled the instrument for maintenance and observed, to his amazement, that the violin had remained untouched since it left

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 Latinized form of his surname, ''Stradivarius'', as well as the colloqu ...

's workshop. He exclaimed, "C'est comme une pucelle!" ("It's like a virgin"!) The name stuck and that has been the violin's name ever since.

History and provenance

created the instrument's tailpiece carved with the image of a woman in armor,

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

, the virgin warrior known as "La Pucelle d'Orléans". Vuillaume also created the instrument's elaborately carved pegs. According to the celebrated violin expert

Charles Beare Charles Beare (born 1937) is a British violin expert, craftsman and dealer. In 2001, the ''New York Times'' described Beare as "the most esteemed authenticator in the world." In 2002, CNN characterized him as the "world's most respected violin dea ...

, La Pucelle is the first example of the instruments forming

's "Golden Period", the pilot model. The violin is currently owned by collector David L. Fulton. He calls it one of his finest items in his collection and considers it one of the finest Stradivari instrument in the U.S. He described La Pucelle as having no cracks, no retouching, no worn-down corners or edges. It was once owned by heiress

Huguette Clark Huguette Marcelle Clark (June 9, 1906 – May 24, 2011) was an American painter, heiress, and philanthropist, who became well known again late in life as a recluse, living in hospitals for more than 20 years while her various mansions remained ...

, given to her on her 50th birthday in June 1956 by her mother Anna. Clark sold the violin to Fulton in 2001 under a contract that would conceal the identity of the seller for 10 years.

Bill Dedman Bill Dedman (born 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, an investigative reporter for '' Newsday'', and co-author of the biography of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, '' Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark ...

br>Who is watching heiress Huguette Clark's millions?
",

msnbc.com MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

, 9/8/2010. Retrieved 25 June 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Pucelle (Violin) Stradivari violins 1709 works Stradivari instruments