Fine Violin Bow by François Nicolas Voirin- Paris circa 1875-1880

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François Nicolas Voirin (1833-1885) was one of the greatest masters of French bow making after François Xavier Tourte. He was considered one of the most talented employees in Jean Baptiste Vuillaume’s Paris workshop. At age 12 he started training as a bow maker; in 1855 he moved to Paris to work for his cousin J.B. Vuillaume. The Vuillaume shop profited greatly from François Nicolas Voirin’s talent, and in turn, for 15 years Voirin could not have benefited from any experience more than he did from being at the Vuillaume workshop. One of Voirin’s responsibilities was to create new and redesigned sophisticated model bows. Later, when he established his own shop, Voirin influenced the work of his many excellent students for years, including long after his sudden death. Voirin bows were regarded as the cream of the bow world. They rose to the top because famous players sought them out for their tonal qualities. Unfortunately for the bow making world, he died in 1885 at the age of 51. His influence on French bow making is assured because he crafted elegant and distinctive bows made to the highest possible standards.

This is a very fine silver-mounted F.N. Voirin in excellent condition – it’s an exceptional bow, elegant and refined in conception, a strong stick with a brilliant tone. The bow has great off-the-string articulation qualities, very controllable, and pulls a clear tone. Voirin brought a level of smartness and perfection to the art of bow-making, which was new thinking at this time in the 19th century. Our bow is a very good example of Voirin’s precise and detailed work, from the choice of the piece of wood to the incremental refinement along the head and the stick. The bow is round section, orange/ brown pernambuco specie, and the mounts are in sterling silver. A few years back Rodney Mohr, master bow maker and owner of Mohr & Mohr, noticed our bow and pointed out that the frog was totally shot and not original. The stick deserved and really needed a new frog. In 2023 Rodney’s daughter-in-law Alicia Cabrera-Hernandez made a new custom French Voirin style frog for the bow. She did a fantastic job creating a new French replica frog and now the bow is in excellent shape. The bow is a WOW! and the frog is exquisite. The entire bow is a player.

Weight fully haired 59.96 grams