Marco Raposo Sterling Silver Pernambuco Violin Bow – Brazil 2015

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We have a fine bow made by the Raposo workshop. When Marco visits the shop with his bows we usually spend more time talking theology than bow making. Which is great. One of the reasons I enjoy bows is getting to know different makers from various countries. Marco has a fine workshop in Brazil and used to have a studio in New York City. He is a visionary in the bow world, planting pernambuco for decades in hopes that one day a great grandchild will be able to harvest the wood and make bows from his efforts. Marco’s bows are very nice. Makers like Marco come to the shop and I go through their bows, selecting by hand each stick for the shop and many times I purchased the entire box. Marco would bring hundreds of bows for me to look over every year.

This bow used reclaimed pernambuco. This means that the wood came from old fences, old construction of barns and railroad ties made from pernambuco wood in Brazil. Most of Marco’s reclaimed wood being used dates back the early or mid-20th century. The wood was then cut to be dried in certain formations for a few decades before being used in a bow. Marco once stated that after finding and cutting the reclaimed wood he would use the best pieces which came out to be only about 20% of what was discovered. Wow, that is a lot of waste. Yup, Marco is very picky. The wood in this bow is better than choice, it is gorgeous!

This sterling silver mounted bow was traded in towards a more expensive violin bow. The bow was originally purchased in 2015 when it was brand new. It is still in excellent condition– just slight wear on the leather thumb grip. I have gone over the entire bow and rehaired the stick in September of 2025, it’s now ready to go again. The stick is pernambuco and round in section. The ebony frog is mounted in sterling silver, Parisian eye model with a three-piece endscrew. The bow is firm and feels great in the hand- ready for the next fine player.

Weight fully haired 60.0 grams