The Nippon Music Foundation (NMF) is an organisation under the supervision of the Arts and Culture Promotion Division, Agency for Cultural Affairs

Agency for Cultural Affairs

The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education . It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. As of April 2007, it is led by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Tamotsu Aoki....

 a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education. Established 3 March 1972, its stated purpose is to develop international networks of music and foster public interest in music.

Instruments

NMF has in its endowment one of the largest collections of antique instruments

Musical instrument

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...

 made by 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...

 (1644-1737), with an additional two by Giuseppe Guarneri

Giuseppe Guarneri

Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, del Gesù was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri house of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his instruments, and he has been called the finest violin maker of the Amati line...

 (1698-1744).

Guarneri del Gesù

Giuseppe Guarneri

Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, del Gesù was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri house of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his instruments, and he has been called the finest violin maker of the Amati line...

Violin

• 1736 Muntz
• 1740 Ysaÿe

Stradivarius

Stradivarius

The name Stradivarius is associated with violins built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or reproduce, though this belief is controversial...

Cello

• 1696 Aylesford
• 1730 Feuermann; De Munck; Gardiner
  De Munck Stradivarius
  The De Munck; Feuermann; Gardiner Stradivarius of 1730 is an antique cello crafted by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari....
  
  
• 1736 Paganini; Ladenburg
  Paganini Quartet
  The Paganini Quartet was a virtuoso string quartet founded by its first violinist, Henri Temianka, in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari , had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini...
  
  

Viola

• 1731 Paganini; Mendelssohn
  Paganini Quartet
  The Paganini Quartet was a virtuoso string quartet founded by its first violinist, Henri Temianka, in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari , had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini...
  
  

Violin

• 1680 Paganini; Desaint
  Paganini Quartet
  The Paganini Quartet was a virtuoso string quartet founded by its first violinist, Henri Temianka, in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari , had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini...
  
  
• 1702 Lord Newlands
• 1706 Dragonetti
• 1708 Huggins
• 1709 Engleman
• 1710 Duc de Camposelice
• 1714 Dolphin; Delfino
  Dolphin Stradivarius
  The Dolphin; Delfino Stradivarius of 1714 is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. This violin was once owned and played by the virtuoso Jascha Heifetz...
  
  
• 1715 Joachim-Aranyi
• 1716 Otto Booth
  Booth Stradivarius
  The Otto Booth; Cho-Ming Sin Stradivarius of 1716 is an antique violin fabricated by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona. The original label of the instrument was "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis faciebat Anno 1716"...
  
  
• 1717 Sasserno
• 1722 Jupiter; ex-Goding
• 1725 Wilhelmj
• 1727 Paganini; Comte Cozio di Salabue
  Paganini Quartet
  The Paganini Quartet was a virtuoso string quartet founded by its first violinist, Henri Temianka, in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari , had once been owned by the great Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini...
  
  
• 1736 Muntz
  Muntz Stradivarius
  The Muntz Stradivarius is an antique violin crafted by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona in 1736. The label affixed to this instrument bears the inscription, “d'anni 92” , possibly handwritten by Stradivari himself. It has also been suggested that Count Cozio di Salabue, a subsequent owner, made this...