# The chemical differences come from three centuries of ageing and playing, not deliberate treatment.

> Most likely: The chemical differences come from three centuries of ageing and playing, not deliberate treatment.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret/answers/ANS0CQAGT0451X6/the-chemical-differences-come-from-three-centuries-of-ageing  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Stradivari "secret"](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret)[Is there anything physically distinct about the wood and finish of Stradivari's instruments?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret/questions/QST0CQAGP34147N/is-there-anything-physically-distinct-about-the-wood-and)Answer

Answer · Stradivari "secret"

# The chemical differences come from three centuries of ageing and playing, not deliberate treatment.

The chemical differences come from three centuries of ageing and playing, not deliberate treatment.

**Most likely** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Most likely** Its tests partly supported it: one piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Old non-Cremonese wood shows the same degradation and elements.

## What would rule it out

- Treatment-specific elements absent from aged untreated wood of the same period.

## Evidence 1 for · 1 against

[Hemicellulose loss and lignin oxidation are partly attributed to age and vibration by the same authors.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret/evidence/EVD0CQAGT7Y5CTD/hemicellulose-loss-and-lignin-oxidation-are-partly)

Suggestive

FOR

[Stradivari's violin maple, but not his cello maple, shows unusual thermo-oxidation patterns, which ageing…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret/evidence/EVD0CQAGTFR2GRS/stradivaris-violin-maple-but-not-his-cello-maple-shows)

Suggestive

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Is there anything physically distinct about the wood and finish of Stradivari's instruments?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stradivari-secret/questions/QST0CQAGP34147N/is-there-anything-physically-distinct-about-the-wood-and)

Most likelyStradivari and Guarneri treated their wood with mineral solutions (borax, sulphates, salt, alum, alkali),…

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The chemical differences come from three centuries of ageing and playing, not deliberate treatment. [Answer ANS0CQAGT0451X6]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0CQAGT0451X6
```

Key

**ANS** 0CQAGT0451X6

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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