Markneukirchen Silver Tip Older Pernambuco Violin Bow circa 1900

click picture to enlarge

Stamped:
Illegible and no origin on the bow

Sometimes I find hidden gems in my collection of older bows that I had forgotten about. This is a circa 1900 violin bow in pernambuco wood, round in section, and mounted in nickel silver. The bow might have been stamped years ago, but even under magnification I could not determine a maker’s name on the bow. Many shops in and around the town of Markneukirchen specialized exclusively in bow making. Young makers in these shops were also assigned the task of making bows that would not get stamped and be sold off to shops to complete instrument outfits.

This stick is well made with the head or tip area in a more erect position, giving the stick a strong look. The tip is silver, and the frog is nickel. The wood is semi-firm and handles well. The frog is classy in a French Pecatte style with single mother-of-pearl eyes that are 7.0 mm in diameter. The heel is one-piece, and the frog and tip area are all original. The stick was well cleaned and the silver work polished up too. I replaced the nickel silver winding and the leather thumb grip. The bow is finished with a three-piece end button and is light in the hand with a little bit of weight felt at the tip while I was playing. This is a very nice 120-plus-year-old German bow worth looking at.

Weight fully haired 60.5 grams