Here is another “collaboration” bow, made in the workshop of EF Ouchard but showing the hand of his son EA Ouchard. Made for Lucien Schmidt of Grenoble, this is a very high quality stick with an excellent playing character. Very good condition too.
There are three generations of Ouchard bow-makers, EF, EA, and Bernard. EA is regarded as the outstanding talent of the family, but in fact his father EF Ouchard produced some sublime bows in amongst a wide output of commercial work. Here we have a ‘collaboration’ bow which offers the best of both makers – the meticulous craftsmanship of EA Ouchard, with the more nimble and pliable technical qualities of EF.
This bow has a stick of round section orange brown pernambuco with a lovely shimmer; mounts are silver and ebony. There’s very little wear, just a couple of tiny chips in the varnish.
Another very fine playing bow here – slightly lighter than this example https://www.martinswanviolins.com/ef-ea-ouchard-violin-bow-1930/ but otherwisesimilar in quality. It has a bold and rather fat sound with plenty of overtones – it handles beautifully, with a smooth and elegant feel in the hand, but it will jump on command with a lively off the string action. It offers a lot of power for its weight, and I can’t really find much wrong with it – another great bow for an orchestral professional.
