Similar to German silver-mounted violin bow stamped “Dodd”

Along with James Tubbs, John Dodd is considered Englands pre-eminent bow maker, working at a time when the modern Tourte style bow was still establishing itself west of the English Channel. This German bow, while owing little to the gracefulness of Dodds work, is a good example of the higher grade D...

This elegantly made, silver-mounted violin bow, stamped JF Lee, is made by prize-winning archetier JianFeng Li, who studied with the prominent American bow maker John Norwood Lee before establishing his own studio in the north-eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo. His bows have won prizes in internat...

This fine, silver-mounted violin bow was made in Germany by R Hagerman from well-selected pernambuco wood. The workmanship is skilled and individualistic, with an elegant, narrow head finished with a sweeping upturn. The simple ebony frog is offset with an attractive, broad pearl slide. The octagonal stick gives the tone clarity, with a crisp articulation and spiccato.

This professional-level violin bow, with its octagonal, selected pernambuco stick and elegant, silver-mounted frog, is something of a mystery. It is tempting to assume J.K. stands for Joseph Kun, but there are no records of this stamp being used by the late Canadian master bow maker. Whatever its or...

W.E. Hill and Sons, for a time one of the most authoritative and prestigious violin dealers in the world, also had their own workshops, making fine violins in the Anglo-French tradition, excellent bows, and luxury cases. Their bows came in several grades, distinguished by the stamp on the stick. Thi...

These well-finished, silver-mounted, Chinese violin bows are marketed under the Schumann brand, although the sticks themselves are not stamped. The workmanship is very clean, and the pearl slides are particularly attractive. The sticks, made from ipe wood, a fine-grained alternative to pernambuco, a...

The F. Schaeffer bow making company, founded by Floriano Shaeffer, one of Brazils best bow makers, is situated in the city of Aracruz on the coast north of Rio de Janiero. It has established a name as one of a number of Brazilian workshops producing excellent student and professional grade bows from...

W.E. Hill and Sons became the most prestigious violin dealership in the UK from the late nineteenth century through to their closure in 1992. While they are rightly famous for their expertise in authentication, and for the high-quality violins handmade in their own workshops, it is arguably their bo...

W.E. Hill and Sons became the most prestigious violin dealership in the UK from the late nineteenth century through to their closure in 1992. While they are rightly famous for their expertise in authentication, and for the high-quality violins handmade in their own workshops, it is arguably their bo...

Founded in 1974, the Ary France bow making workshops have been producing a wide range of violin, viola, cello and double bass bows in both Brazilwood and Pernambuco wood for almost 50 years.This elegant, gold-mounted violin bow, stamped A. Martin, is positioned at the very top of their range and wil...

In keeping with the stamp, Vuillaume Paris, the German-made bow stick and frog are fitted together using the Vuillaume method, with a silver-wound thread lapping in keeping with the French styling of the frog. In contrast, the octagonal pernambuco stick is skilfully but robustly shaped. The playing ...

Bows made by the world-famous violin workshops of W.E. Hill and Sons come in four different quality rankings, each one indicated by the stamp on the stick above the frog. The full stamp W.E. Hill and Sons on this bow shows us that this is one of their first grade bows, while the figure 3. hidden und...

The JonPaul workshops in Salt Lake City, Utah, are widely known for their pioneering, high-class carbonfibre bows, designed for advanced and advancing students. More recently they have expanded their range upwards, with a small team of three expert traditional bow makers creating fine master bows fr...

The famous eighteenth century English maker Richard Duke has been widely imitated, with his Stainer style modelling reproduced with varying success by generations of Vogtland workshops. Happily, this German violin, stamped DUKE LONDON below the button, follows a more graceful Nicolo Amati model, whi...

This silver-mounted, pernambuco violin bow was made in the Wilhelm Raum workshops in Markneukirchen in the mid-twentieth century, and bears the workshops distinctive brand on the ebony frog and well and the makers full name on the stick. The bow produces a full, strong sound, with plenty of overtone...

NZSO double bass player Stephen Gibbs and violist Michael Cuncannon teamed together to form The Bow Company in 2001, to promote Gibbss talent as a bow maker. This example, halfway between a full-size and a 3/4 violin bow, would be an excellent choice for an advancing student with a shorter arm reach...

W.E. Hill and Sons became the most prestigious violin dealership in the UK from the late nineteenth century through to their closure in 1992. While they are rightly famous for their expertise in authentication, and for the high-quality violins handmade in their own workshops, it is arguably their bo...

Charles Jean-Baptiste Collin-Mzin is famous for his violins, and for the highly successful small workshop he set up in Mirecourt, once his personal instruments had achieved prize-winning success. Neither he nor his luthiers were bow makers, so, to complement his instrument sales, he purchased good-q...

This second-tier violin bow is typical of the high-quality hand skills of W.E. Hill and Sons bow makers in the first half of the twentieth century. A small nick in the silver tip face below the head mortice indicates the bow was made by Sydney Braithwaite Yeoman, the workshops first apprentice, who ...

The Utah-based company JonPaul Bows has, over the years, made a name for itself as a workshop producing high-class carbon-fibre bows. More recently, it has also started sourcing and distributing selected bows for the student market. The Noir is a black carbonfibre bow with a fully lined, nickel silv...

The famous German bow maker Hermann Richar Pfretzschner retired from active bow making in 1914, but his small, high-quality workshop continued under the leadership of his two sons Hermann and Berthold. This bow, owned by a New Zealand player for many years, probably dates from the 1950s, and is a gr...

Popov trained in his home town of Plovdiv before moving with his family to the USA in 2000. After ten years gathering experience in other violin workshops, he established Orpheus Violins in Virginia, where he continues to make and restore good instruments and bows. This fine violin bow is made from ...