“A stolen violin valued at more than $200,000 has been returned to its owner after being sold to a Massachusetts pawnshop for $50,” writes Laura M. Nolson in Monday’s (7/30) New York Times. “The violin, which was designed by Ferdinando Gagliano … in the late 18th century, was stolen July 20 from the home of a couple … Dylan McDermitt, an employee at LBC Boutique & Loan in Somerville, Mass. … got a call from a detective at the Somerville Police Department last week asking him to check the pawnshop’s inventory for a rare violin. The police provided documents, including an appraisal, to prove that the violin had been stolen…. The owner of the violin declined to be identified…. The theft was part of a wave of recent burglaries in Somerville…. Christopher Reuning, the owner of Reuning & Son Violins, an appraiser and dealer of violins in Boston, said it was not uncommon for stolen violins to be sold to a pawnshop at a very low price…. Gagliano was from a family of artists trained in the Neapolitan School style of violin making….. A violin made by Gagliano was sold at auction in 2011 in the United States for $222,000.”
Posted July 31, 2018
