Fine German Cello Bow, Tortoise Shell Frog – Pernambuco – Sterling Silver, c. 1930 – SOLD APRIL 10, 2024 –

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This is a gorgeous non-stamped pernambuco specie, in round section cello bow. I purchased the bow back in the mid 1980’s in Staten Island, New York. The bow is fantastic, and I wish I knew what happened to the cello that was probably with the bow. From the mid 1970’s and through the 1980’s my dad and I searched out string instrument collections, showed up at auctions, and attended many estate sales looking for string instruments and their bows. This bow is one of those finds. Now 40 years later I’m finally getting to restore the hundreds of sticks I have. This one is a sleeper cello bow. The sleeper definition is a great stick with no known maker’s stamp on the bow, being sold at a much lower price. If I knew exactly who the maker was the bow would sell for two times the price.

I love this German quality bow and it plays better than well. The wood is older stock, well chosen for this mount. Mounted in sterling silver the stick is very firm in its state. The darker orange/brown color of the wood stands out and you can clearly see the grain in the wood. I believe the quality of the stick was specifically chosen for the fine tortoise sterling silver frog. The frog has a Peccatte style throat with single mother-of-pearl large eyes that add a classic look. The mother-of-pearl eyes and the slide match in color and have almost a textured look to the pearl. The three-piece end screw has a double lathe turn and finished with single bevel. We completely went over the entire stick, new tip, imitation whale bone winding with leather thumb to keep the gram weight down, cleaned the stick, French polished the bow, and completely cleaned up the frog. The sterling endscrew and frog lining are held with fine pin work. The entire bow is in excellent condition. This bow was made by no amateur and the bow screams German craftsmanship.

Weight fully haired 81.0 grams.