A CELLO BOW BY F. X. TOURTE PARIS, CA. 1820 Start Price USD 50,000.00 Current Price USD 50,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, November 17, 2008 End Time Thursday, November 27, 2008 Location Brewton, AL See more about 'A CELLO BOW BY F. X. TOURTE PARIS, CA. 1820' Description                                                                     A VERY RARE CELLO BOW BY F. X. TOURTE, CIRCA 1820 CHRISTIAN SECRETAN, OF SWITZERLAND, A DEALER/ IN FINE BOWS, WWW.FXTOURTE.COM  - AND NOW A PRINCIPAL OF THE NEW,  HONG KONG BASED, "CASA GUARNERI" AUCTION SERVICE OFFERED THE FOLLOWING OPINION, BASED ON THE IMAGES I EMAILED TO HIM TWO OR THREE MONTHS AGO: "DEFINITELY FRENCH, POSSIBLY SOMEONE AROUND GAULARD, CIRCA 1830, THE BUTTON NOT ORIGINAL TO THE STICK", ETC......... THE METAL ALLOY, "ALPACA" OR "MAILLECHORT", OF WHICH THE FERRULE IS MADE, WAS NOT INVENTED (IN FRANCE) UNTIL THE YEAR, 1819. THEREFORE THIS BOW COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BEFORE 1819 BECAUSE THE FERRULE IS ORIGINAL TO THE FROG (NUT) WHICH IS ORIGINAL TO THE STICK. I DO IN FACT OWN A VERY FINE OCTAGONAL HATCHET HEAD (PARISIAN) FRENCH VIOLIN BOW BEARING A BEAUTIFUL IVORY FROG AND SILVER HEAD PLATE WITH A FERRULE MADE OF THE SAME MATERIAL OF ALMOST IDENTICAL SHAPE, INCLUDING THE WAY IT IS MADE. SINCE I OWN THIS CELLO BOW AND HAVE RESEARCHED THE FEATURES OF IT BY AND THROUGH MANY COMPARISONS TO HIGH (AND LOW) RESOLUTION IMAGES OF THE VERY FEW CELLO BOWS CLAIMED TO BE THE WORK OF FRANCOIS XAVIER TOURTE I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THIS UNSTAMPED CELLO BOW TO BE THE AUTHENTIC WORK OF FRANCOIS XAVIER TOURTE, PARIS FRANCE, CIRCA 1820. THE (UNDAMAGED) UNVARNISHED ROUND STICK IS MADE OF VERY HIGH QUALITY DARK CHOCOLATE BROWN PERNAMBUCO. CHEVAL MISSING AND RESTORATION NEEDED TO LEFT FRONT END OF TRAY. MOTHER OF PEARL SHIELD MISSING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FROG (NUT).. THE FERRULE OF "MAILLECHORT", AS MENTIONED ABOVE. THE HANDLE END DOES NOT APPEAR TO EVER HAVE HAD A " GRIP" PUT ON IT. THE SHAFT VEERS SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT, WHEN LOOKING "DOWN THE GUN BARREL". BOTH CHEEKS OF THE HEAD, RIGHT BEHIND THE DISTINCTLY INCLINED FRONT RIDGE, ARE CARVED IN A SLIGHTLY CONCAVE FASHION. WHEN VIEWED IN PROFILE, UNDER CERTAIN LIGHT CONDITIONS, THIS FEATURE WILL SHOW CLEARLY WHEN HELD IN THE HAND OR BY VIEWING THE IMAGES I HAVE PROVIDED. WELL INFORMED, KNOWLEDGEABLE CONNOISSUERS LOOK FOR SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS WHEN A SOI~DISANT, UNSTAMPED DARK CHOCOLATE BROWN FRENCH CELLO BOW COMES UNDER THEIR NOTICE. ESPECIALLY SO, IF THEY THINK IT MIGHT BE A CELLO BOW MADE BY  F. X. TOURTE! WELL, DEAR READERS, JUST AS (GROVE'S DICTIONARY) STATES (AS IN A "TOURTE FAMILY TREATISE" BY A WELL KNOWN AMERICAN DEALER/TRADER IN FRENCH BOWS) THIS EXAMPLE HAS "THE TRAVELLING, ALMOST MEANDERING, RIDGE RUNNING DOWN THE HEAD'S FRONT"; THE RIDGE MOVING SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT WHEN VIEWED FROM ABOVE THE HEAD.. (SINCE THIS FEATURE IS KNOWN TO BE A TYPICAL, CHARACTERISTIC TRAIT ALMOST ALWAYS FOUND IN THE AUTHENTIC WORK OF FRANCOIS XAVIER TOURTE A TOURTE IS WHAT IT MUST BE!  [[THERE IS NO OTHER "FAMOUS" F. X. TOURTE CELLO BOW, RECORDED AND  ILLUSTRATED AS SUCH  (THAT I KNOW ABOUT)  FROM WHICH THIS STICK AND FROG COULD HAVE BEEN COPIED.]]. - THE ORIGINAL HEAD PLATE IS MADE OF IVORY, WHEREAS. ON MOST "MATURE PERIOD" (OCTAGONAL) 'HATCHET' HEAD CELLO BOWS BY F. X. TOURTE, THE HEAD PLATE IS MADE OF SILVER, SECURED BY METAL PINS.  THE ADJUSTER IS MADE IN TWO PIECES OF SOLID EBONY AND, I MOST CERTAINLY BELIEVE IT IS ORIGINAL TO THE STICK. I'VE TRIED THIS BOW ON MY 1741 GUARNERI DEL GESU AND 1719 STRADIVARI. NOT SUPRISINGLY WITH BUT A SLIGHT BIT OF ROSIN ON THE HAIR, IT PULLS AN INCREDIBLY CLEAR, POWERFUL AND FOCUSED TONE FROM BOTH VIOLINS! THE OVERALL BALANCE AND ELASTICITY OF THE STICK IS SUCH THAT IT FEELS AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER IN THE HAND. SINCE NONE OF MY CELLI ARE MOUNTED, THAT'S THE BEST ASSESSMENT I CAN GIVE FOR PLAYING QUALITY. THAT SAID -- NOT ONLY DO I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS BOW, I DOUBLE GUARANTEE YOU WILL NEVER IN YOUR LIFE FIND ANYTHING ON THE PLANET THAT LOOKS LIKE IT  OR PLAYS LIKE IT, MOST  ESPECIALLY IN ANY FANCY BIG CITY FIDDLE SHOP! . IF YOU, PERCHANCE, EVER DO FIND YOURSELF SO FORTUNATE  AS TO COME ACROSS ANYTHING LIKE THIS BOW, PLEASE GET HOLD OF IT AND CONTACT ME! LENGTH: 69.5  CM  -  WEIGHT: 73.1 GRAMS (WITHOUT GRIP). [FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE,  THIS ITEM WILL BE MOST SECURELY PACKAGED AND INSURED FOR THE  FULL PURCHASE PRICE]  SERIOUS  OFFERS ARE WELCOME,  THANK YOU. Place a Bid!