A FIVE-SHILLING VIOLIN SOLD FOR £590.

North Otago Times, 27 December 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

A FIVE-SHILLING VIOLIN SOLD FOR £590.

PIPES SET WITH DIAMONDS, AND CAIIIUAGE-HANDIiJS MADE OF GOLD.

The pipe smoked by the Shah of Persia on Stato occasions is set with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds of thu choicest kind, and is stated to lie worth as much ns £IOO,OOO. His. pipe is, therefore, toil limes mora valuable tlinn his sword—worn by the late Shah's father on his first visit to Europe—which is only valued at tho insignificant sum of £IO,OOO I Talking of perhaps the most precious blade in existence is that of the finckwnr of llaroda. Us hilt and belt are encrusted with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, and it is valued at £220,000. Thero are some costly swords in India, and both the Czar of liuciia and the Sul--Inn of Turkey possess jcv.dled (sabres of great price. Tho mast valuable sword in England is thu one presented by the Egyptians to Lord Wolseley. The hilt is s'.-t with brilliants, and is valued nt £2,000.

The finest brougham in the world is owned by the Maharajah of Oltened, one of the wealthiest of. India's potentates. The handles of the doors are of solid gold, while the rest of the carriage is silver. One of tlw "■ most curious pianos ever manufactured was made to the order of the late Emperor of Morocco. It had to be made in parts, each small enough to be carried by a slave, as his Highness absolutely refused to trust them to the aire of his came!,?, which formed the only other available means cvgrthmhuk( transport. This instrument was an exceedingly costly affair, being manufactured principally of orris and tulip woods, iidaid with unpqlishrd jacaranda paivuetry, and decorated with scroll work r,f pure gold. The actual sum paid for it wns £II,OOO. It is impossible to value certain things until they come under the hammer in the open market. Thero is no doubt that the Queen of Italy's pearls are, indeed, worth "a King's rai.som," but the peaifl necklace which fetched n record price belonged to the Duchess of Montrose. The bidding commenced at £5,000, and rose by Lids of £I,OOO, .WOO, «::d £IOO to £11,500, nt which price it was knocked down.

Violins have a romance nil their own, apart from their price, but £590, the sum paid the oilier day for a violin by Antonio Stradivari, seems an enormous price to pay for an instrument Hie original cost of which to tho maker cannot have exceeded ss. Hut this price is ut bagatelle in comparison with some of the prices paid for the creations of the great Cremona master. A few years ago £2,050 was paid for a "Sl"ad" at Stuttgart, and there are others in cxisienco which even "a King's ransom" could not buy. Senor Sniasate, the great violinist, owns one such. It wns presented to him by Queen Isabella of Spain, when, a* a boy of ten-the infant prodigy of those days—he played before her at the Court of Madrid. It is said to bo destined to revert to the State on tho great violinist's decease.