Fine French 3/4 violin bow by Émile Ouchard Père (certificate by J.-F. Raffin)

This French 3/4-sized violin bow is a rare original piece from the later oeuvre of Émile François Ouchard, who was one of the most influential masters of French bow making in the first half of the 20th century. Produced during a very troubled era – the year 1940 was both the beginning of the German occupation of France as well as the time when the estrangement with Ouchard's son and designated successor Émile Auguste Ouchard occurred – this bow represents Ouchard père's high craftsmanship standards, his fine and mature musical sensibility, and his defiant idiosyncrasy. He planed and bent the finest pernambuco into a fine round stick which is distinctive because of its highly dynamic playing properties, and with its centrally located balance point that tends slightly towards the upper half, the bow plays comfortably and has nuance. Ouchard's original stamp "Vtor Fetique a Paris" is located above the nickel silver-mounted frog, a magnificent piece from the Morizot workshop. A certificate issued by J. F. Raffin, the highly esteemed expert for French bows, confirms the provenance of this excellent violin bow which is musically compelling because of its powerful bright sound of unmistakably French character.