It is highly unlikely that the violin is a genuine Stradivarius.
Virtually all of the authentic instruments are accounted for, one way
or another.
A label of Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis?
http://www.fritz-reuter.com/DOC/articles/artiexp1.htm
"Have you found a violin with the label "Antonius Stradivarius
Cremonensis"? Keep cool. It's almost certainly a fake. In the past
some restorers have stuck labels (genuine or forged) inside
instruments of various origins and there has been a proper business in
labels, apart from the selling of violins. There have also been cases
of old-time violin makers who would put the names of other
contemporary makers on their own violins.
Nowadays, no violin expert would judge the value of a violin by its
label.
Labels such as "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno 17",
followed or not by circles with crosses, initials or other particular
signs are made (in series) to be completed before being stuck on the
instrument: actually "... Anno 17" shows only the first two numerals
of any year of the 18th century. A complete label should read "...
Anno 1715" or "... Anno 1707", or at least an year of the 18th
century.
There are also cases where you can't even seriously talk of fakes. A
label like the following: "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis /
Faciebat Anno 1721 / Made in Bohemia" is a joke rather a fake,
considering that Stradivari never learned English."
Smithsonian Institution
FAQs Stradivarius Violins
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/stradv.htm
"Therefore, the presence of a Stradivarius label in a violin has no
bearing on whether the instrument is a genuine work of Stradivari
himself.
The usual label, whether genuine or false, uses the Latin inscription
Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno [date]. This
inscription indicates the maker (Antonio Stradivari), the town
(Cremona), and "made in the year," followed by a date that is either
printed or handwritten. Copies made after 1891 may also have a country
of origin printed in English at the bottom of the label, such as "Made
in Czechoslovakia," or simply "Germany." Such identification was
required after 1891 by United States regulations on imported goods."
Stradivarius Violins How Genuine?
http://www.holeintheweb.com/drp/bhd/StradivariusViolins.htm
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