Spike fiddle bow

Date1900-1939 ca.

Place MadeAsia

Serial No.none

Signednone
Markingsnone
DescriptionA length of bamboo consisting of four nodes and five internodes is cut down to two parallel V-shaped points at the distal end, where a knotted end of a hank of white horsehair is secured. A small piece of wood wedges the other end of the swatch into a hole 165mm. above the proximal end of the stick. A second hole for another hank of horsehair is bored 108mm. above the proximal end of the stick.

Fake bow for an East Asian spike fiddle (Ravanastron bow - Arne B. Larson inventory). The two holes for two swatches of horsehair indicate that this object was intended to resemble a bow for a member of the Chinese sihu family of four-stringed spike fiddles, where the bow hair passes between the strings; however it is not functional as the the stick is not curved.
DimensionsOverall length: 783 mm
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.

Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979

Object number05631

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