Rudolf Riedl – Violin Bow, Bubenreuth circa 1960

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Rudolf Riedl learned bow making from his father in Schönbach, Czechoslovakia 1935-1938. Then WWII was in full swing and disrupted and ruined with many lives in this part of the world. Rudolf served in the in the army and became a prisoner of war. After the war in 1945 Rudolf was blessed to find work in the well-respected Gotthard Schuster workshop in Schönbach. He made bows and was then moved into managing the Schuster workshop from 1948-1965 under Czechoslovakian control. In 1966 he received official permission to emigrate and moved his family to Bubenreuth, Germany where he began working for Oskar and Lothar Seifert another well respected German workshop. Rudolf won several awards, professional recognition, and first prize for his bow making in 1955 and in 1983. The Gotthard Schuster workshop days influenced his style and can be seen in the many details in his bows. The slightly elongated frog, the shorter throat, the exceptional fits and clean lines. This bow is in excellent condition and was formerly in the Bruce Babbitt bow collection. By 1968 Rudolf opened his own shop in Bubenreuth and made his last bow at the end of 1998 when he went into retirement.
Our stick is stamped RUDOLF REIDL on the players side and GERMANY on the bottom flat between the mortise and the end of the stick. The bow is of pernambuco specie and octagonal section. The ebony frog is mounted in sterling silver and contains single mother of pearl eyes, a three-piece endscrew, and an ivory tip.

Weight fully haired 61.1 grams.