The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin, regarded as one of Antonio Stradivari's best works, sold for $11.3 million at an auction in New York.

A violin made by the famed Antonio Stradivari in 1714 has the potential to become the most expensive musical instrument ever sold when it goes up for auction at Sotheby's in New York.

There is a certain paradox to the greatest violins. No matter how uniform the testimony of their players and audiences, a skeptic might question their supremacy. After all, these instruments have been played, for centuries now, by the most gifted violinists in the world — the ones who can coax, from any instrument, the most varied colors and tones.