Ernst Heinrich Roth Sterling Silver Violin Bow – Markneukirchen circa 1930-1935

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Stamped:

We have an attractive violin bow made in Germany for the Roth firm. Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877-1948) was a prominent figure in violin making the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. His instruments and the workshop instruments were special, and he even made some fine bows early on in his career. His instruments and bows are highly regarded for their superior sound and quality construction. The firm still to this day in their fourth generation produces fine string instruments in Bubenreuth, Germany. From the 1930’s branded Roth bows were supplied to the firm by two different makers: Adolf Schuster and Otto Paulus. These makers supplied unstamped bows to the Roth workshop and the Roth firm graded and stamped them according to their own system. Our bow was made in the 1930’s and I believe it was made by the Otto Paulus firm. The bow has stars which are 5 pointed and the stars have open centers. The bow is also stamped “GERMANY” on the butt which is the flat of the stick behind the frog. Many of these bows were made for export to the West and usually were sold with one of their violins. This is one of those fine bows made in the Schuster or Paulus workshop.

Pernambuco has been the bowmaker’s wood of choice for 285 years. The wood only grows in Brazil, and it is harvested in the province of Pernambuco. The logs would have been harvested mid to late 1800’s, transported by boat to Europe and in this case the Markneukirchen area of Germany, and cut and stored in barns or maker’s homes for 15 to 20 years to get plenty of natural drying time to season the wood. Then a piece would have been selected by a discerning maker to create a bow. I would have loved to have seen the stockpiles and graded piles of pernambuco in the old workshops in and around Markneukirchen.

This stick has a deep orange/brown color, it has dense tight grain, is round in section, and the mounts are completed in sterling silver. The head is strong, erect, and not too small. I replaced the bronze eye, the tip facial in bone, and removed the old winding and replaced it with the same, sterling silver winding, a lap and leather thumb. The frog is the typical Northern Germany/Markneukirchen look this time in Parisian eye model. The pearl slide and eyes carry a slightly colored blue hue. The endscrew is a sterling silver double turned collar and three-piece button that has a single pin in the third segment. The bow shows classic German workmanship and it is in very good condition.

Weight fully haired 62.2 grams