When you were young, some of you may undergo musical lessons that teach guitar or piano. However, most of you were never aware that these instruments can cost so much. If you knew how expensive it was when you were younger, you might take your music lessons more seriously. If you really want to get a clearer picture on how pricey they can get, we have compiled a list of 5 of the most expensive musical instruments ever made and sold.
1701 Testore-made violin
Price: $218,500
Carlo Giuseppe Testore’s was a distinguished figure when it came to making instruments in the late 17th century and earlier parts of the 18th century. His range of products included double basses, violas, cellos and violins. Did you know? Testore-made products are still favoured by accomplished classical instrumentalists. The violin, which is featured above, was auctioned off for $218,500 in the Italian city of Milan.
Viola de Gambia
Price: $212,500
Pieter Rombouts’s Viola de Gamba is considered as one of the rarest classical instruments around the world. The viola’s root traces back to Morocco and Spain during the Renaissance era. Several pop artist have used it beautiful sound for their recordings, and as recent as 1997. Twelve years later, in 2009, the viola was finally auctioned off for $212,500.
1794 Ceruti Violin
Price: $158,500
The 1794 Ceruti Violin was created by Giovanni Batista Ceruti, whose occupation was in the textile industry. At a mature age of 40, he finally decided to pursue his dreams and intense passion for music, especially in the creation of violins. During his time, it was difficult to source for quality materials to build his instruments as his country was constantly in turmoil. Hence, he decided to settle for cheap wood and made it up with his excellent craftsmanship and construction. Amazingly, his instruments stood the test of time and one of his violins was auctioned off for $158,500 in 2009.
1864 De Torres Classical Guitar
Price: $157,000
Antonio de Torres was a renowned guitar maker from Spain, and his creations are currently used to model modern versions of his classical guitars. In the past, he probably anticipated that his works of art were going to the next big thing, thus he started to sign on each of them in 1871. True enough, though with an ironic twist, the guitars that were built before 1871, were well sought after. In 2007, the 1864 De Torress guitar was auctioned off by Christie’s for a whopping $157,000.
Robert Bouchet’s 1964 Classical Guitar
Price: $122,500
Robert Bouchet is a famed guitar maker from France, and surprisingly produced only 150 guitars in his lifetime. As a result, his classical guitars are very rare, pricey and highly sought after. Julian Bream, a distinguished English classical guitarist in the 20th century, favoured his creations. In 1964, one of Bouchet’s classical guitars caught the eyes of his fans as it was a unique guitar that included his signature, address of his residence as well as the date the guitar was built. In 2009, his guitar was auctioned off at a sky-high price of $122,500.