In a recent auction, world renowned physicist, Albert Einstein’s melodious violin went on sale at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.
A musical instrument that once belonged to one of history's best-known scientists has sold at auction for £860,000, initially expected to fetch around £300,000.
Auctioneers believe this is a record sum for a violin, surpassing the previous high set by an instrument used in the film Titanic.
In addition to that, all prices will have an extra 26.4% commission added on top, meaning the final price for the violin will be above £1m.
As reported by the BBC, the 1894 violin made by Luthier Anton Zunterer was believed to be the first instrument that Einstein played while he developed his theory of relativity.
Furthermore, Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and historical memorabilia specialist, described the sale as a "special moment", which was completed in less than 10 minutes.
Mr Albury said many people were unaware that Einstein had played the violin. While Einstein always said that if he hadn't been a scientist, he'd have liked to have been a musician.
"He started learning the violin at about the age of four and played it every day through his life," said Albury.
Moreover, another violin, once owned by Einstein and gifted to him upon his arrival in the United States in 1933, was also sold at auction for $516,500 (£370,000) in New York in 2018.
Although a philosophy book that Einstein gifted to a friend was sold for £2,200, a bike saddle owned by the scientist did not sell at the auction and may be re-listed later.
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Shortly after, Einstein fled to America to escape the rise of antisemitism and Nazism in Germany. In late 1932, he gave all of his favorite belongings to a friend and physicist, Max von Laue.
Twenty years later, Max von Laue gifted them to Einstein’s fan, Margarete Hommrich, and it was her great-great-granddaughter who had now put them up for an auction.
The world knows Albert Einstein as a theoretical physicist, best known for developing the theory of relativity and quantum theory. However, he was also a keen violinist and a great music enthusiast.
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“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician," Albert Einstein once quoted.
Einstein was given violin lessons at early age; he was interested in music since he was 13 and made the acquaintance of the Mo-Zart-Sonatas.
Moreover, Violinist David Garret also tweeted that Albert Einstein played violin for 7 decades.
