François Peccatte Violin Bow, Mirecourt circa 1850

This is an unusually fine bow by François Peccatte, younger brother of Dominique. The wood is exceptional and the sound is brilliant and projecting.

François Peccatte will always remain in the shadow of his older brother, but he was a remarkable maker who died young and who never realized his full potential. Many bows made by him use woods other than pernambuco, and he made large numbers of nickel mounted bows. Clearly he didn’t have any pretensions of grandeur. However, his best work is at least equal to that of Dominique, and this is such a bow.

The wood is exquisite – the round stick is of darkest red pernambuco with a dramatic randon figure. Mounts are silver and ebony – the button is a later replacement.

The design of the head is very close to that of Dominique, though flatter in the cheeks and ultimately more graceful. The frog is also very reminiscent of Dominique, with a butt-jointed heel plate and screws in the underslide.

The overall condition is excellent, with no damage or restoration and very litle wear.

This is a tremendous bow – not a power stick but brilliant and solistic nonetheless, with a crystalline, carrying sound that’s full of nuance.

It took a while for me to understand that above all this bow creates great music – it has a rare capacity for shading and expressiveness, something we tend to associate more with Tourte than with the Peccatte school.

Once you tune in to its particular essence it’s hard to put down.

Given the replacement button this is a musician’s bow rather than a collector’s piece, but it’s a great musician’s bow!