Prize-winning musician issues urgent appeal for return of 300-year-old violin worth tens of thousands she was due to play at the Proms after she left it on a train

  • 'Devastated' Jane Gordon forgot the Maggini violin was in the luggage rack
  • A passenger is thought to have left the train with it at a London station
  • Police have released CCTV in a bid to find the cherished instrument 

 

Jane Gordon with her beloved violin. She's offering a reward for its safe return

Jane Gordon with her beloved violin. She's offering a reward for its safe return

A devastated concert violinist has appealed for help to find her cherished 300-year-old instrument after she accidentally left it on a train in London.

Jane Gordon, 37, was travelling from Waterloo to her home in Twickenham after rehearsing for two Proms she's playing in next month.

But she alighted at St Margaret's station, forgetting her valuable Italian Maggini violin was in the luggage rack.

'I'm absolutely distraught – it's like losing a member of your family, you develop a relationship with an instrument,' she told MailOnline.

'It's 300 years old and it's a special violin. I've owned it for four or five years.'

CCTV footage shows the rare musical instrument, which was in a case, remained on the luggage rack for three hours after Ms Gordon left it on Monday August 22.

It was removed by a passenger who got off the train at the unmanned Queenstown Road rail station in London at around 6.50pm.

British Transport Police have released images of a man and woman thought to have information about what happened next.

British Transport Police wanted to hear from these people, as they think they know what happened

British Transport Police want to hear from these people, as they think they might know what happened to the violin

This woman, who was captured on CCTV on the train, has been asked to contact the investigating officers 

This woman, who was captured on CCTV on the train, has been asked to contact the investigating officers 

Queenstown Road station is unstaffed, and Ms Gordon hopes the passenger handed in the instrument somewhere else, or plans to do so.

She declined to state the exact value of her missing violin, beyond saying that it is worth 'tens of thousands of pounds'.

Maggini violins regularly fetch more than £30,000 at auction and one went for more than £133,000 when it was sold in 2011. The Italian master violin maker only made around 60 of them during his lifetime.

Ms Gordon, a professional violinist, is due to play in two Proms at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on September 4 and 9.

She plays in several orchestras and as part of a chamber ensemble called Rautio Piano Trio.

She has performed at major concerts at Sydney Opera House, the Lincoln Center in New York and across Europe and has won a number of international prizes.

Now she faces having to play a borrowed instrument at the world-renowned Proms if her own is not found in time.

The violin was in a black case with a label 'GEWA' on the outside. There is a pouch outside the case which contains a blank envelope with strings inside, these are labelled La Folia. 

The instrument also has a distinctive wooden chin rest. There are four bows and there is a small pouch at the end of the case, which contains asthma medication.

The violin was in a case with the word GEWA printed on the outside and there were four bows and some asthma medicine inside the case

The violin was in a case with the word GEWA printed on the outside and there were four bows and some asthma medicine inside the case.

Ms Gordon said: 'I am willing to offer a reward for the instrument if it is found. Please return it safely.' 

Detective Constable Anthony Steaman of the British Transport Police said: 'I am keen to speak to the two people in the CCTV images as I believe they may have vital information that could help with the investigation.' 

Anyone with any information should contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or hand the instrument in to their local police station. 

MAGGINI VIOLINS - WHAT MAKES THEM SO SPECIAL? 

Giovanni Paolo Maggini, born in the late 16th century in Botticino, Italy, was pupil of the most important violin maker of the Brescian school, Gasparo da Salò.

He moved to Brescia around 1586 to train with da Salò. After 20 years of work for him, he struck out on his own and began to develop his own models.

Maggini's instruments are now considered very desirable. They are known for the quality of the woods and unusually large sound holes (which are well curved and carefully finished), as well as for their exceptionally mellow tone.

Many are ornamented on the back with such decorations as the St Andrew's Cross, a clover-leaf device, tableaux, medallions, crests, or other motifs.

Maggini died of plague around 1630.  His instruments remain highly sought after today. They often fetch more than £30,000 at auction and sometimes more than £100,000. 

Sources: Smithsonian Institution, Amati auctions, Tarisio Fine Instruments