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Violin bow

Date: 1810-1830 ca.
Place Made:England, Europe
Place Made:Paris, France, Europe
Serial No: none
DescriptionLaurence Witten attributed bow to Tourte L’Aîné, but possibly English
Current attribution: Arian Sheets and Andrew Dipper (March 31, 2018) attribute bow to John Kew Dodd due to T-mortise in head, frog heavily altered and possibly replaced, Dodd is known to have made Tourte-style bows
Date: ca. 1790 (Witten); ca. 1810-1830 (Sheets and Dipper)

Stick: round; pernambuco; uneven faceting at handle
Head: T-mortise
Frog: snakewood (portion toward stick replaced as a repair with dark hardwood, possibly ironwood); narrow silver ferrule; no heel-plate; later nickel-silver lining; large mother-of-pearl ovals inlaid on sides of frog; silver slide; possibly later
Adjuster: snakewood; two nickel-silver bands with rounded inner profiles; mother-of-pearl eye; oversized
Tip plate: ebony-lined ivory
Wrapping: silver-tinsel-covered black and black thread
Grip: none
Dimensions732 mm long
Stick length: 716 mm
Head height: 23.3 mm
Head width (bottom): 9.1 mm
Stick width near tip: 5.6 mm (top to bottom); 5.3 mm (side to side)
Stick width near middle: 7.6 mm (top to bottom); 7.5 mm (side to side)
Stick width at end of handle: 8.0 mm (top to bottom); 8.0 mm (side to side)
Frog height: 20.9 mm (front); 20.5 mm (back)
Frog length (top): 46.4 mm
Frog length (bottom): 46.0 mm
Frog width (top): 7.8 mm (front); 7.8 mm (back)
Frog width (bottom): 12.5 mm (front); 11.2 mm (back)
Weight (without hair): 48.3 grams

ProvenanceAcquired by Laurence Witten from E. M. W. Paul, London, 1964.
Purchased by the National Music Museum from Laurence Witten Family, New Haven, Connecticut, 1984.
Terms
Credit Line: Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984
Not on view
Published ReferencesPeter Walls. "Mozart and the Violin." Early Music 20, No. 1 (February 1992): p. 17.
André 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 35.
Object number: 03391