Violin bow
Maker
Christian Wilhelm Knopf
Date1823-1837 ca.
Place MadeMarkneukirchen, Saxony, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
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
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
ProvenanceWitten acquired this instrument as a gift from Charles Beare in 1975.
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.
Credit LineWitten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
Object number03408
On View
Not on view
1830-1870 ca.
1680-1730 ca.