Baron Johann Knoop (22 July 1846 in Moscow – 9 May 1918 in Wadhurst), was a collector of musical instruments who possessed a total of 29 great violins, violas, and cellos at one time or another including some four Stradivari violas. Several instruments are named after him:
Baron Knoop Stradivarius (1698) Alard-Baron Knoop Stradivarius (1715) Baron Knoop; ex-Bevan Stradivarius (1715)
Knoop's father, Johann Ludwig Knoop (1821-1894), emigrated from Germany to Russia, founded a textile industry in Narva, Estonia, and was granted title of Baron in the Russian Empire, which he passed to his sons.
References Doring, Ernest N., "The Baron Knoop". Violins and Violinists, Sep-Oct. 1954, p 196 - 201
External links Cozio Catalogue by Owner The Way Famous String Instruments Went