The Lord Wilton Guarnerius, sometimes called the ex-

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

, is an antique and valuable violin fabricated by Italian

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 o ...

Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (1698–1744), usually called

Guarneri del Gesù Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

. The violin was made in 1742 in the city of

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

. It was named after

Seymour Egerton, 4th Earl of Wilton Seymour John Grey "Sim" Egerton, 4th Earl of Wilton (20 January 1839 – 3 January 1898) was a peer of the United Kingdom from the Egerton family. He was the owner and namesake of the Lord Wilton violin. A musician, he was an associate of Arthu ...

, a musician, associate of

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

, and 19th century owner of the instrument. It was owned and played by the celebrated violinist

from 1978 to 1999. After Menuhin's death in 1999, the instrument was sold for US$6 million to the collector, David L. Fulton, the highest price paid for a violin to that date. , the instrument remains in Fulton's possession.

Zlatko Balokovic Zlatko ( sr-Cyrl, Златко, ) is a South Slavic masculine given name. The name is derived from the word ''zlato'' meaning gold with hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' common in South Slavic languages. Zlatko is a given name. Notable people with the na ...

also played the instrument from 1952 to 1961.

References

Giuseppe Guarneri violins 1742 works {{violin-stub