This is a very nice Dominique Peccatte violin bow, made in Mirecourt circa 1860. It has a big, brilliant and solistic sound.
Dominique Peccatte is a unique figure in the world of bow-making. He created a very personal style which changed little during his working life. He was massively productive, and many of his bows have survived thanks to their robust qualities.
Rather like del Gesu, Peccatte worked fast but with great authority, always choosing wood for sound rather than appearance.
This example is typical of his later Mirecourt work – it’s unfussy but completely to the point. The stick is of round section orange pernambuco with a random figure – very typical Peccatte wood. Mounts are silver and ebony – the button is a later French button.
The bow is in very good condition – the stick is excellent, the frog has some minor repairs to the ebony on the player’s side.
Why do soloists tend to choose Peccattes? This bow provides the answer… it produces a lot of sound, and that sound is at once dense and brilliant.
It’s important to understand that this quality of tone cannot be achieved from a stiff and super-dense stick – a Peccatte inhabits a different universe to that of a Sartory or an EA Ouchard. It’s extremely sensitive to the tension in the hair, but when you get that right, then the sound explodes.
In terms of the technical qualities of the stick this is also quite a typical Peccatte – smooth, very controllable, with a very particular feeling of contact with the note.
Anyway, if you’re reading this and thinking of buying a Peccatte then you don’t need me to tell you this!
Overall this is a great bow for a big hall, and the price isn’t too alarming.
