A recently found violin from 1700s

[MrMurphy]

Hello!

I am a real newbie when it comes to antiquities.

I am actually researching on behalf of a friend.
My friend, lets call him Mr Murphy, came across a violin while spring cleaning a few years ago. He had it appraised and found out that it is quite old and would fetch an exuberant sum of money.

Mr Murphy does not have a certificate of ownership for this antiquity.

Can he legally sell it and how?

[cogar]

Can he legally sell it and how?

That depends on for whom Mr Murphy was doing said spring cleaning.

If for himself, "possession of" means 99 44/100% ownership.

If for someone else, depends on verbal contract for doing said cleaning. Meaning, was he given ownership of anything that was to be "cleaned out"?

[regularjoe2]

I agree with cogar .
I'd also like to add another comment , since 'cleaned out' might imply criminal intent .

Perhaps 'Mr. Murphy' might want to contact the previous owner (or their estate) & 'fess-up' to his possible mis-deed .
He could even ask for a 'finders fee' ( or the cost of said appraisal ) .

Another route could be sell the darn thing & send an anonymous money order for the majority of funds from the sale of it .

Point of business here is that , if true (& in the U.S.) , the value of the violin alone (nevermind the circumstances of 'getting it') could constitute a major felony .

It seems , from what you've put in your post , that "Mr. Murphy" knows that there's a problem .
If that's not a red flag , what is ?


I'm not suggesting any of the above actions ..... just adding my 2 cents worth ...

[D&b antiques]

 I would think it would depend, on the course taken. private buyer no proof of owner ship required. now a well advertised Auction.
Of which is where the ''Money'' is. is going to require proof of owner ship. I think it's safe to assume the owner was not aware of it's value.
But if and when it becomes apparent to him. and he could prove he owned it. I would suggest a legal Battle is likely to occur. it's I completely for got that I was so busy. I never intended for that to be removed.

[regularjoe2]

The simple thing to do is to approach the ethical dilemma from the 'real' (or former) owner's point of view .

The original posting stating 'a recently found' , and the comment 'came across a violin while spring cleaning a few years ago'  seems deceptive .

Our "Mr. Murphy" has had a couple of years to think about it .

Perhaps 'Mr. Murphy' has let a 'hot' item cool down for a few years ?


O.K. ... now that's 4 cents worth ..

[KC]

I would also be cautious in dealing with Mr. Murphy for your part.....if in fact Mr. Murphy's "find" was taken "illegally" and you are helping him to find a way of "selling/disposing of" said item....you are aiding him....thus you are an accomplice and can/will be held legally responsible! After all...your post indicates that all isn't well in Oz!

[talesofthesevenseas]

Keep in mind that unless this appraisal was done by an expert in violins, not an expert in antiques, it is very likely that it is a copy, rather than an original from the 1700's. Copies are commonplace in the violin world and an accepted means of duplicating a particular style and sound quality. Some are labled, some are not, sometimes the spellings are changed just slightly. For example there are many "Stradiuarius" violins. (Correct spelling is Stradivarius)  The industry is also full-blown of forgeries including some very early and very clever ones. Here is an article on "Strad Copies".
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-a-strad-copy-violin.html
And this is not to say that copies cannot be great violins. They can be! I have a Strad copy from the 1920's that is wonderful. But they should not be mistaken as originals. There are many other types of copies out there too. Few people really find a truly valuable violin hidden in an attic anymore. If it was stolen from an violinist or an expert, who would be the likely owner of a truly valuable violin, it would be recognized as soon as it hit the market or was taken to an expert for appraisal.

I sincerely hope that this violin was not obtained by illegal means. My guess is that if it was, the last laugh will be on Mr. Murphy, since forum postings record the IP address of a user.