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Violin bow
Maker: Christian Wilhelm Knopf
Date: 1823-1837 ca.
Place Made:Markneukirchen, Saxony, Germany, Europe
Serial No: none
Signednone
Markingsnone
DescriptionThe decoration and silver cap on end of handle are characteristics of Christian Wilhelm Knopf’s style. The use of nickel silver in the decoration points to a date after 1823, when nickel silver was first produced in Saxony. Ernst August Geitner is credited with developing Neusilber in the Erzgebirge in Saxony in 1823, though a similar alloy, paktong, had been used in China much earlier.
Stick: octagonal; pernambuco
Handle: each facet inlaid with mother-of-pearl strip; ebony and ivory checkerboard inlay on top facet; octagonal silver cap on end of handle
Frog: ebony; silver ferrule and heel-plate; no lining; mother-of-pearl floral inlay on each face consisting of a flower, a bud, and four leaves on five nickel-silver stems
Adjuster: ebony; two silver bands; rectangular mother-of-pearl inlay on each facet of ebony; mother-of-pearl eye
Tip plate: ebony-lined silver
Wrapping: missing
Grip: missing
Stick: octagonal; pernambuco
Handle: each facet inlaid with mother-of-pearl strip; ebony and ivory checkerboard inlay on top facet; octagonal silver cap on end of handle
Frog: ebony; silver ferrule and heel-plate; no lining; mother-of-pearl floral inlay on each face consisting of a flower, a bud, and four leaves on five nickel-silver stems
Adjuster: ebony; two silver bands; rectangular mother-of-pearl inlay on each facet of ebony; mother-of-pearl eye
Tip plate: ebony-lined silver
Wrapping: missing
Grip: missing
DimensionsTo be completed later
Stick length: mm
Head height: mm
Head width (bottom): mm
Frog height: mm
Frog length (top): mm
Frog length (bottom): mm
Frog width (top): mm
Frog width (bottom): mm
Weight (without frog, adjuster, or hair): grams
Stick length: mm
Head height: mm
Head width (bottom): mm
Frog height: mm
Frog length (top): mm
Frog length (bottom): mm
Frog width (top): mm
Frog width (bottom): mm
Weight (without frog, adjuster, or hair): grams
ProvenanceWitten acquired this instrument as a gift from Charles Beare in 1975.
Terms
Credit Line: Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
Not on view
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson. Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848. With essay by John Koster. Exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003. Vermillion: National Music Museum 2003. Page 30.
Object number: 03408