The Lord Wilton Guarnerius, sometimes called the ex-Yehudi Menuhin,[1] is an antique and valuable violin fabricated by Italian luthier Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (1698–1744), usually called Guarneri del Gesù.
[2] It was named after Seymour Egerton, 4th Earl of Wilton, a musician, associate of Arthur Sullivan, and 19th century owner of the instrument.
It was owned and played by the celebrated violinist Yehudi Menuhin from 1978 to 1999.
After Menuhin's death in 1999, the instrument was sold for US$6 million[citation needed] to the collector, David L. Fulton, the highest price paid for a violin to that date.
[citation needed] Zlatko Balokovic also played the instrument from 1952 to 1961.