French Vuillaume Style German Violin Bow- Markneukirchen Early 20th Century

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The German makers in Markneukirchen have produced some of the nicest bows for a span of over 250 years, but French bows get all the glory. As the violin trade grew in the Markneukirchen area and the fame for their quality grew, so did the need for fine bows to be sold with instruments. The location attracted hard working immigrant craftsmen, and the trade route near Markneukirchen brought raw products from other areas of the world like ebony and pernambuco. This combination helped launch this city into becoming the instrument hub of Germany.

Many shops started to branch off and concentrate just on bow work. This is one of those bows, with no maker branded or stamped on the bow. The stick is round-section, beautiful pernambuco wood that is medium-brown in color with stunning grain. The wood was probably harvested in Brazil in the late 1800’s and transported to Germany where it was air dried for another 10-20 years at a shop before being selected for a bow. The head of the bow has a crisp vertical line up to the peak and appears perfectly proportioned. The stick shows me great workmanship from a bygone era when young apprentices worked long days (farmers hours), perfected their craft, and didn’t worry about the acknowledgment of making such gorgeous bow. The bow has all the hallmarks I look for: excellent pin work, natural dark color pernambuco wood, an older specie darker wood, small mother-of-pearl eyes in the frog, and a gracefully chamfered head. The stick is firm and has a great gram weight that many players look for in a well-made stick. The bow is skillfully metered from the tip to the frog and light in the hand. We have replaced the silver winding, which was too far gone to save, with a new silver winding and a leather thumb. The ebony frog is set in a track in the pernambuco, delicate and very nice. The frog and endscrew are original to the stick. The frog is in the French Vuillaume style: conical ferrule and round edges, as well as sterling mounts and single mother-of-pearl eyes. The stick handles well and feels great in the hand. Yup!, I really like this bow. Good player.

Weight fully haired 60.1 grams