Master violin bow, prob. from a Joseph Joachim scholar made by Ernst Kessler

This remarkable German master bow, which was made in the early 20th century, was probably given to a recipient of the scholarship funded by the famous violinist and professor Joseph Joachim (1831-1907), who supported talented but penniless students. Recipients included famous names such as Paul Hindemith. The violins and bows given to students came from the Ernst Kessler (1856-1931) atelier. Kessler served as successor of the highly esteemed August Riecher in his capacity as a supplier to the Berlin Conservatory; he went on to earn numerous awards, including the Royal Prussian and Royal Saxonian state medal. This violin bow has a strong stick of the finest quality, made of fine light-brown pernambuco with an octagonal profile that features rounded edges and a masterfully crafted head. The polished ebony frog is wound in genuine silver with a luminous green-bluish mother-of-pearl slide. The bow has an overall length of 74.8 cm and a weight of 59.5 g. Its perceived balance point is broad and tends towards the tip; the actual point measures 25.7 cm. The bow was worked over carefully by our luthiers and is offered ready to play. Its sound is worthy of its presumed provenience — warm and large, dark with great resonance and a somewhat softer undertone.