Can an antique violin play again after its owner falls on it? Not impossible, says Hong Kong expert

An antique violin that was damaged when it broke the startling fall of its owner from stage at the weekend could be restored - possibly with even better sound quality - when the cracks were freshly inflicted, a Hong Kong-based violin repair expert said.

"From my experience, every instrument can be saved and brought back to the original playing condition, including its structure and sound," Gonthier said.

"It's like a human body after a big accident which can recover after a year or even two years, depending on the will. Some people are not supposed to walk again, but in the end they walk again.

"An instrument is a life, and it needs time to recover after a big repair, and lots of re-adjustments to get back its original sound."

But he added: "I hope they've picked up every single piece of wood on the site. Fresh cracks are easier to fix than old ones, and the patches can be invisible."

The only aspect that might suffer was the value of the violin, which could take a fall of 5 to 20 per cent, he said.