Fine Markneukirchen Sterling Silver Workshop Viola Bow – Albert Nürnberger c. 1925

click picture to enlarge

Branded:

Viola players, don’t miss out on another terrific bow that is not French in origin. Yes, the French get many well-deserved accolades bestowed on their makers and their sticks, but I really have seen the greatness and beauty of many German bows, especially from the first half of the 20th century. I have had this viola bow in my collection since the early 1980’s. Covid allowed me to pull everything out to categorize and prioritize my collection of hundreds of older bows. As a young guy totally into instruments and bows, my dad and I spent many weekends collecting and purchasing string instruments in the New York/ New Jersey area where I grew up as a kid. I’m finally getting to these sticks and having a blast working them up and doing the research. Carl Albert Nürnberger completed his apprenticeship and journeyman years in his father’s highly respected shop. The luthiers in his family date to the early 18th century and the Nürnbergers flourished as bow makers in the 19th century and were widely recognized as the standard that all other German bow makers strived to emulate. Carl Albert Nürnberger made the Nürnberger workshop of the 1910-1940’s one of the top addresses in the world for bow making. He could list many of the most well-known artists in his circle of customers.

This Nürnberger workshop bow has been meticulously gone over and is in beautiful to excellent condition. The tip has gorgeous large chamfers at the back of the head, all done in knife work. The sterling winding still shows a little of the oxidation and the pernambuco wood is simply gorgeous. The stick is firm and is in octagonal section. Viola players, I know you will love the strength of this bow. The bow has an ebony frog in a Parisian eye model, mounted in sterling silver, along with a three-piece endscrew. This is a fantastic bow for the player looking for older quality German work. The bow is in very good condition waiting for a serious player.

Weight fully haired 73.2 grams.