A happy ending for a Strad stolen in England, appropriately enough at a time when Oxford's Ashmolean Museum has mounted arguably the finest exhibition of Stradivarius instruments in living memory.
The Korean-born violinist Min-Jin Kym lost the 17th century instrument back in 2010, when it was snatched from her at a Pret A Manger restaurant in London's Euston station.
As is commonly discussed among violin professionals, the perils of attempting to sell a Stradivarius are so many as to make the crime barely worth it from any viewpoint. If a thief tried to sell it for anything like it's true value, it's likely that the instrument's rare provenance wouldn't be believed, and that the fact that a Strad had come onto the black market would, itself, draw the kind of attention criminals would far rather avoid.
In this case, one John Maughan and two teenage accomplices were entirely unaware of the violin's value.
As the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph reported at the time, they attempted to sell it to a stranger in an internet café for £100 but were rebuffed by the potential client, who informed them that his daughter already had an instrument--a recorder.
After a hunt aided by a television appeal, the thieves were tracked down and arrested. However, the violin remained undiscovered, until British Transport Police--who had remained certain that it was likely to still be in Britain--finally located it in a house in the Midlands this week.
The instrument was crafted by the preeminent violin-maker Antonio Stradivarius in 1696, and is today worth some £1.2 million.
Min-Jin Kym also had two bows stolen, one a Dominique Peccatte worth £62,000 and the other worth £5,000. They were also recovered along with the Strad.
Kym is said to be overjoyed. One wonders whether this incident will persuade her however to the merits of, say, Starbucks rather than Pret. Oh, those tall chairs!
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