Chong Yu Liu Gold Mounted Violin Bow- Beijing 2008

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Made in Beijing 2008 from a gorgeous piece of pernambuco crafted in round section. The bow has some flex and plays well, with a generous amount of fight. The frog is tortoise shell, gold mounted, and has single mother-of-pearl eyes. The eyes have a blue/green hue where the mother-of-pearl slide has a gold/light green hue. The workmanship is excellent, and this bow compares well to gold mounted bows made by Brazilian makers at the $3800-$4,000 level. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit at the 2008 Violin Society of America Convention for his violin bow. The winding is whale bone with a lizard thumb. The three-piece end button is also special with the center portion of the button completed in octagonal mother-of-pearl.

Paubrasilia Echinata, also known as pernambuco, grows exclusively in North-Eastern Brazil. Bow making with this wood has not changed for over 250 years but has now been deemed off limits by the Brazilian government and the CITES group. The wood for the last 3 years has been banned from use by bow makers. It is very weird because in my thought process trees can be replanted. Bow makers throughout the world only use 200-300 pernambuco trees per year. This cannot be the cause for deforestation in a country like Brazil. At any rate pernambuco has been banned from being used in any new making. This ban has also led other countries to require musicians and orchestras to carry special passports for each bow made from pernambuco with them when they travel. This gold mounted bow was made well in advance of the pernambuco ban from Brazil. Many string players claim that nothing beats the precise resistance, density, and elasticity of pernambuco for projecting the sound. Here at our shop, we have over 800 sticks made in pernambuco specie, completed, restored, and ready for purchase. If you are looking for some great sticks check out this bow and others in our collection.

Weight fully haired 61.3 grams