• A rare 1679 violin by famed Italian artisan Antonio Stradivari will be auctioned next month for up to $11 million.
• The “Hellier” Stradivarius “is the greatest inlaid violin ever created by… Stradivari.
• It is one of the finest Stradivarius instruments in existence,” according to Christie’s, which will sell the instrument as the top lot in its “The Exceptional Sale” on July 7.

The violin, which is engraved with ivory diamonds and finished with a golden varnish, is estimated to be worth 6-9 million pounds ($7.54-11.31 million).

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Stradivari maintained the instrument for 55 years until selling it to Samuel Hellier of Wombourne, England, for 40 pounds in 1734.

“I anticipate a lot of demand for such an instrument because it is so uncommon that it comes out of a museum,” said violin specialist and Christie’s consultant Florian Leonhard.

“When is it possible to handle and possess a violin like this? It’s amazing.”

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The excellent workmanship of Stradivari’s violins is well known. According to Leonhard, they cost between $8 million and $20 million.

“Of the approximately 1,100 instruments Stradivari created throughout his lifetime, only about a dozen are decorated with ornamentation, and this specimen is recognised by Smithsonian experts as the best-preserved existing example,” Christie’s said in a statement.

At a preview, violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason hailed the instrument as “wonderful.”

“These sorts of violins are sometimes compared to sports cars; you have to learn how to drive them first, but once you do, it’s tremendously satisfying,” he remarked.