Duport Stradivarius Cello

The Duport Stradivarius Cello is another of Antania Stradivari's most precious and honorable creations. The craftsman was well-known throughout Europe, and various monarchs had asked him to make instruments for them. And one such instrument, the Duport Stradivarius Cello, was created at the request of a powerful individual at the time. The instrument was manufactured in 1711 on a special request from King Louis XIV of France for his personal physician, and following the physician's death, the instrument was put up for auction.

The Duport Stradivarius Cello was a handcrafted cello of exceptional value and craftsmanship. The few who had the chance of playing the string instrument described its tone to be the purest, firm, and most penetrating sound ever attained. The tone of the Duport Stradivarius cello, according to Vuillaume, a cellist and luthier, was distinct and possessed a startling level of homogeneity. The cellist was also given the opportunity to play the cello and thought it to be quite impressive. The Stradivarius instrument appeared to be made of a very rare material that scientists had been trying to find for nearly two centuries. The cellist most likely obtained his spruce and maple wood from the forests of the Southern Italian Alps.

Hwang-ching Tai, a researcher, proved what luthiers had known for decades: the wood had additional unusual features. Stradivarius must have used a few artificial wood treatments to acquire the high-quality material the instrument was manufactured from, according to his research.

The exquisite musical instrument passed through the hands of various artists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries before being auctioned off for a stunning $20 million. This is still one of the most expensive múical instruments ever sold.

Price: $20 million