Soil Stradivarius
The Soil Stradivarius (pronounced ) of 1714 is an antique violin made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari of Cremona (1644–1737). A product of Stradivari’s golden period, it is considered one of his finest. "The Soil" was acquired by Yehudi Menuhin in 1950. It was sold in 1986 to its current owner, Itzhak Perlman, who played this instrument while recording the "Cinema Serenade" with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1997. One of two Stradivari violins named after Belgian industrialist Amédée Soil, this instrument is characterized by its brilliant red varnish and a two-piece maple back with the flames  of the grain joined, descending from the edges toward the center. The extended provenance of this violin includes the French luthier and collector Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the Viennese collector Oscar Bondy, who also owned the "Hellier Stradivarius" of 1679. Other sobriquet "Soil" violins are the Stradivari of 1708 and two by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1733 and 1736. In fiction. The Soil Stradivarius appears in the video game "Fallout 3" as an item to be recovered from Vault 92, an underground bunker created to preserve the musical arts after a nuclear holocaust.