1670

The “Bonamy Dobrée – Suggia” from Stradivari’s golden period is an outstand­ ing example of his work, embodying a culmination in the art of cello crafting. The earliest record pertaining to this instrument is found in a notebook of the French violin maker Charles-Eugène Gand (1825–1892) in which he describes it and names the owner: an English gentleman, Bonamy Dobrée (1818–1907), son of the governor of the Bank of England of the same name. During this period the instrument was regularly played by the French cellist Jules-Bernard Lasserre (1838–1906) to whom Camille Saint-Saëns dedicated his first cello sonata.

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In 1876, Lord Ernest Illingworth Holden (1856–1937) bought the instrument and lent it to Allan Hancock (1875–1965) a virtuoso of the time. Then, in 1902, the London lacquer company Hudson & Kearns acquired it, retaining it until 1919. Edward Hudson (1854–1936), a partner of the company and an enthusiastic amateur cello player, in admiration of the Portuguese musician Guilhermina Suggia (1885–1950), gifted it to her in 1919. Suggia, a onetime lover of Pablo Casals (1876–1973) who had settled in London in 1914, is considered the first female cellist of international repute. The London Tate Gallery, Millbank possesses a portrait of her by Augustus John with this instrument. Suggia played it from then on until her death in 1950, bequeathing it to the Royal Academy of Music, London.

In 1951 the Royal Academy sold the instrument to the Russian-born virtuoso Edmund Kurtz (1908–2004). He had been trained by Pablo Casals, Julius Klengel (1859–1933) and Diran Alexanian (1881–1954) – the best cello virtuosi of the time. Ten years later, in 1961, the American collector Samuel Crocker (1888–1963) acquired the instrument. It was in his possession for only a short time before it became part of our collection.

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The instrument is currently played by Anastasia Kobekina.