Beautiful Old Saxon Violin Bow Stamped BAUSCH Late 19th Century – SOLD APRIL 22, 2024 –

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For over 250 years, German luthiers supplied musicians not only with serviceable and affordable instruments but also their bows. This bow is from the late 19th century. In the 1800’s the violin was the most popular form of musical entertainment, next to the piano. To meet the demand, a thriving industry developed in a remote area of eastern Germany on the Czech border, a region known as Western Bohemia. The center of this instrument making industry was the town of Markneukirchen in the state of Saxony. It was by no means a new industry for the area. The area had been the center of German violin making since the early 1600’s and many of these violins and bows were made and shipped to the West. These makers in Markneukirchen and Klingenthal (about 25 miles north) and many surrounding villages had mostly anonymous skilled craftsmen turning out simple but well-made instruments and bows. The elite makers of that day in the Saxony would have been trained in and around the Markneukirchen area and then would have moved on to work in larger cities such as Berlin, Dresden, Munich, and Prague.

Our bow is pernambuco specie, round in section, and the Bausch brand is still there though very faint at the usual place on the stick above the frog. A second brand “SAXONY” is stamped on the bottom flat behind the frog. The stick is firm, and the head is original. We meticulously went over the bow in our workshop, cleaning the stick, replacing the nickel silver winding, and adding new leathers. I always learn something from older bows as I rework bows that were created over a hundred years ago. The camber drops right down from the head and is streamlined. The incrementation on the stick is different and the transition area from octagonal section to round section happens quickly by the middle of the silver winding work. It is precise and very nice. The Parisian eye frog, though rounded like a viola bow, is different and interesting, especially in its silver work. The pearl slide lays in a silver encasement and the heel is ebony, not silver, outlined by silver inlay work. The frog shows some signs of wear, but it is still in good condition and the endscrew is a solid cap of silver.

Weight fully haired 62.5 grams.