Bow for violin.

François Nicolas Voirin

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Instrument

Bow

Instrument Family

Bows

Maker

François Nicolas Voirin

Place Made

Western Europe ; Europe ; France ; Paris

Date Made

Circa 1878

Description

Technical description: The round, concave, pernambuco stick has metal winding and a leather grip and ends in a modern head with an ivory headface and ebony headface lining. The screw-mechanism, squared, translucent tortoiseshell frog has mother-of-pearl decorative eyes surrounded by gold decorative eye rings. The ferrule and one-piece heelplate and backplate are made of gold. The ebony button has gold rings and is octagonal with a rim. Measurements: Weight: 59g. Hair length: 651mm. Balance point: 266mm. Head height: 24.4mm. Head width: 9.6mm. Face length: 22.3mm. Tip diameter: 6.0mm. Frog diameter: 8.2mm. Nipple range: 0.9 to 1.2mm. Period of oscillation: 1.37. Distance from pivot to tail: 61.7mm. Button length: 14.1mm. Ferrule width: 12.3mm. Frog + stick height: 25.9mm. Frog top length: 43.25mm. Repair History: The frog has been repaired with ivory on top where the tortoiseshell meets the ferrule. Perhaps the button or screw have been repaired or replaced, as the button is not in line with the stick. Inscriptions: The stick is stamped "F.N. VOIRIN a PARIS", upside down over the frog on the thumb side; it is 1.49mm high and 23.23mm wide. The stick is also stamped "EXPOSITION 1878" upside down over the frog on the finger side; it is 1.62mm high and 21.76mm wide. The gold on the bottom of the ferrule is slightly worn near the hair. There are cracks inside the frog. The button and stick are not quite in line with one another. Illustration references: World-Wide Web picture at http://music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ Current ownership: Bequest of John Fairbairn (d. 1997).

Notes

Brenda Neece, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004.

Measurements

742mm

Provenance

Bequest of John Fairbairn (d. 1997).

Collection

MIMEd

Accession Number

3801

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