Among Stradivari's recognized masterpieces, the 1731 "Maurin, Rubinoff" presents a stately presence reminiscent of the 1732 "Vienna, Busch."

The instrument's documented history begins with French violinist Jean-Pierre Maurin (1822–1894) as its first recorded owner. Maurin was a professor at the Paris Conservatoire and the leader of what came to be called the "Society for the Last Quartets of Beethoven" — and his name lives on as the instrument's nickname to this day.

The violin subsequently passed to Antoine-Auguste-Ernest Hébert (1817–1908), a celebrated portrait painter and Director of the Académie de France in Rome. According to the records of Charles-Eugène Gand, Hébert owned it in 1870. After Hébert's death, his widow, at the request of American collector Nathan E. Posner, sold it to Alfred Hill.

In 1928, the distinguished violinist David Rubinoff purchased it through Wurlitzer and kept it close for the rest of his life. During this period, an intriguing story circulated: that the Romanov imperial family had owned this instrument, and that during the chaos of the 1917 Revolution a member of the imperial family brought it to Paris. No firm evidence for this claim has been found, but it has become part of the instrument's legend.

After Rubinoff's death, his widow sold it to a Japanese buyer, and since 2013 it has been part of the distinguished Munetsugu Collection.