Non-Branded Older German Violin Bow circa 1880-1900 – Fantastic Older Bow!

click picture to enlarge

This is a classic German bow from the Markneukirchen area; probably at that time the region was called Saxony. The bow is from the late19th century, and it is in excellent condition. I have meticulously gone over the entire bow gradually working with the bow over many months. I work a few things on the stick then hang it back up and pick it up again at a later date. Over the many months process I realized how light the bow was; it occurred to me that it is stronger and not as fragile as I at first thought. This bow has stick strength but also freedom and flex. It cleaned up well, shining like a new bow. The frog and all its components are original as well as the baleen winding. The baleen whale winding sets this bow apart from others during this period. I added new leather thumb grips to encapsulate and hold both sides of the 100-year-old winding in place. The whale’s inner gills were used by fine bow makers, especially in the 19th century, because it was available and because the maker could curl the long flexible part of the whale to wrap around the bow to create a lightweight, very durable winding. For over a century this bow has been well cared for and to that effect the baleen helps to date the bow.

The pernambuco wood on the stick is choice, free from any flaws I can see, transparent, and straight. The bow is easy to handle, being lightweight in the arm and it feels light as feather in the hand. The stick is orange brown in color with a dense tight grain throughout. At the frog end the stick is slightly darker from years of use. Some player or players took great care with the bow over the years. The bow is in excellent condition and finished in nickel mounts, typical of the period, and is in octagonal section. The ebony frog has single mother-of-pearl eyes, and there is a splendid iridescent color in all of the pearl work. If you’re a player looking for a lightweight stick to handle Bach and Mozart, you may just fall in love with this piece of intentionally designed woodworking, hair dressing, and jewelry work. Carpenters need all kinds of different tools in their toolbox to complete a job correctly and in a timely fashion. Players also need different tools in their violin case to get the job done, to play different genres of music and to create different sounds on their instrument. This bow is clearly different in a nice way, a hundred plus year German beauty just waiting for someone to match to their violin.

Weight fully haired 54.5 grams.