So far, six instruments by Jacob Schmid are known to have survived, one pure trumpet, two trombones, and three horns, of which two are in the Museum’s collection. The present horn is in unique condition and marked with the inscription “MACHT IACOB SCHMIDT IN NURNBERG” and the master’s sign, a chook with the monogram JS. Jacob Stainer is called the “Father of the German violin” and his instruments had been favorites of the Bach and Mozart households. They remained the most sought-after violins and violas on the earth till the start of the nineteenth century. Stainer’s devices are characterized by their very full arching, vertical f-holes with well-proportioned eyes and by their meticulous workmanship all through.

This is, however, what baffled audiences, significantly in the West after he fled the Soviet Union within the Twenties, and held him again from public acceptance on a scale matching that of his pal, …