The Lady of Tennant-Lafont Stradivarius is an antique violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 made by the Italian luthier

Luthier

A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...

 Antonio Stradivari

Antonio Stradivari

Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a crafter of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas, and harps. Stradivari is generally considered the most significant artisan in this field. The Latinized form of his surname, Stradivarius, as well as the colloquial, "Strad", is...

 of Cremona

Cremona

Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...

 in 1699, one year before the beginning of his so-called 'golden' period.

Lady Tennant was once owned by the nineteenth century violinist, Charles Philippe Lafont

Charles Philippe Lafont

Charles Philippe Lafont was a French violinist and composer.-Biography:Born in Paris, he received his first lessons from his mother. He later studied with Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Rode....

, contemporary of Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò Paganini

Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...

. After the death of Lafont, the violin was acquired by the London violin dealer W.E. Hill & Sons, who in turn sold it to Sir Charles Clow Tennant. This Scottish businessman presented the violin to his wife, Marguerite Agaranthe Miles Tennant, an amateur violinist, as a gift.

On April 22, 2005, the Lady Tennant sold for a record US$

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

2,032,000 at Christie's

Christie's

Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...

 auction in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and was presented on loan to violinist Yang Liu

Yang Liu

Yang Liu was born in Tsingtao, China, Liu is a Chinese classical violinist. He made his concert debut at age 10 performing Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen with the NHK Orchestra in Tokyo, and also performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in a nationally televised live concert with the Central...

through the auspices of the Stradivari Society of Chicago. In 2009 it was given on loan to Belgian violinist Yossif Ivanov.