Francois Xavier TOURTE

Highest auction price achieved
£ 105256.00

By Cecie Stainer

He settled at 10, Quai de l'Ecole, and began to make bows; for his first experiments he used the staves of old sugar hogsheads from Brazil, but afterwards always selected fine Pernambuco wood of perfectly straight grain, strong and elastic, without excessive weight. By subjecting this in a state of flexion to a moderate amount of heat for some time, he obtained a permanent and regular bend: to do this without making the exterior brittle is always the great difficulty of bow makers. He was able to definitely settle the correct length and curvature of the stick, the gradual tapering towards the point, and also invented a method of spreading the hairs of the bow and fixing them on the face of the nut by means of a moveable band of metal, fitting on a slide of mother-o'-pearl. In fact, he practically invented the modern bow and has well been called the " Stradivari" of the bow, for his skill has never been equalled. Most of his great work was done after 1775. Viotti, who arrived in Paris in 1782, is said to have suggested many of the improvements that were required from a violinist's point of view. He worked until he was eighty-five, when failing eyesight necessitated a rest. He himself charged 12 louis d'or (about £10) for the bows mounted in gold, and 3 1/2 louis d'or (nearly £3) for those mounted in silver, but they now fetch from £20 each ; for Tourte's bows are always preferred to any others by violinists, and as yet show no signs of wear. Violoncello bows are rarer; at a sale in Paris, Feb. 5, 1887, one was sold to Messrs. Hill and Son for £44. Several of his bows are in the Paris Conservatoire Collection, they are never marked ; only two are known with small engraved labels : " Cet archet a ete fait par Tourte en 1824, age de soixante-dix-sept ans." His bows were so closely imitated by other makers that it is not easy always to distinguish between the original and the copy.

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Price History

Type Title Sold Price
Violin Bow S/E 50 g. Thu 1st January 81 £ 7822.00
Violin Bow S/E 59.0 g. (frog & button later) Tue 1st November 11 £ 31952.00
Cello Bow S/E 77 g. Paris, early 19th C. [Probably by] Sat 1st October 11 £ 27500.00
Violin Bow G/T 60 g. Sat 1st October 11 £ 102000.00
Violin Bow S/E 49.5 g. no winding (frog & button not original) Wed 1st June 11 £ 42984.00
Violin Bow S/E 55 g. Paris, 1790 c. [Ascribed to] Fri 1st April 11 £ 62707.00
Cello Bow S/E 77.5 g. [Attributed to] Tue 1st March 11 £ 6000.00
Violin Bow S/E 57 g. France, 19th C. [Ascribed to] Tue 1st March 11 £ 9375.00
Violin Bow S/E 50.5 g. no winding (frog & button not original) Wed 1st December 10 £ 40388.00
Cello Bow S/E 79.0 g. (frog & button probably later) [Attributed to & possibly by] Fri 1st October 10 £ 5257.00
Violin Bow S/E 52.5 g. without hair [Attributed to] Thu 1st April 10 £ 8642.00
Violin Bow S/E 61 g. 1810 c. (frog later) [Probably by] Mon 1st March 10 £ 15600.00
Violin Bow S/E 54.0 g. frog made by "D. Peccatte" in the style of "Tourte" Thu 1st October 09 £ 37074.00
Violin Bow S/E 57.0 g. [Attributed to] Fri 1st May 09 £ 13199.00
Violin Bow S/E 57.5 g. (frog & button not original) Wed 1st October 08 £ 19884.00
Violin Bow G/E 56 g. certified by J. Tubbs, 1909 (adjustor later) [Ascribed to] Wed 1st October 08 £ 4869.00
Cello Bow S/E 82.7 g. with replica frog Thu 1st March 07 £ 103500.00
Violin Bow S/E 53.5 g. frog by "Jacob Eury" (head and mortice altered) Fri 1st December 06 £ 27563.00
Cello Bow S/E 81.5 g. Also sold with a silver and ebony replica frog Wed 1st November 06 £ 105256.00
Violin Bow S/E 53 g. without winding [frog by "Lupot II"] Thu 1st June 06 £ 44518.00
Violin Bow G/E 57 g. Without wrap (later frog and button) Mon 1st May 06 £ 22129.00
Violin Bow S/E 52.5 g. (frog not original) [Probably by] Tue 1st November 05 £ 12000.00
Violin Bow S/E 56 g. Fri 1st April 05 £ 15038.00
Cello Bow S/E 74.5 g. without wrapping,with frog copy Wed 1st December 04 £ 45581.00
Violin Bow G/T 60 g. Thu 1st May 03 £ 65600.00
Violin Bow Ivory 43 g. 'Cramer' model, also by "Louis" Sat 1st June 02 £ 10991.00
Cello Bow S/E 90 g. Fri 1st December 00 £ 24779.00
Bass Bow S/E 165 g. Thu 1st June 00 £ 47823.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. Wed 1st December 99 £ 27150.00
Violin Bow S/E 56 g. Sat 1st March 97 £ 43300.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. Wed 1st March 95 £ 24150.00
Violin Bow S/E 64 g. Wed 1st March 95 £ 6900.00
Violin Bow Ebony 60 g. Open frog Wed 1st March 95 £ 2645.00
Violin Bow G/T 58 g. Mon 1st November 93 £ 52100.00
Violin Bow G/T 58 g. Mon 1st November 93 £ 49900.00
Violin Bow S/E 54 g. Mon 1st June 92 £ 5500.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. Sun 1st March 92 £ 11632.00
Violin Bow S/I 59 g. Fri 1st November 91 £ 8800.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. (later frog) Fri 1st June 90 £ 9900.00
Violin Bow S/E 61 g. (later frog) Wed 1st November 89 £ 10450.00
Cello Bow S/E 81 g. Wed 1st November 89 £ 22000.00
Violin Bow G/E 61 g. Wed 1st March 89 £ 15400.00
Violin Bow G/T 58 g. Tue 1st November 88 £ 79200.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. Tue 1st November 88 £ 24200.00
Violin Bow S/E 58 g. Tue 1st November 88 £ 22000.00
Violin Bow S/E 60 g. Tue 1st November 88 £ 22000.00
Violin Bow S/T 62 g. (later frog) Tue 1st November 88 £ 18700.00
Violin Bow S/E 56 g. Tue 1st November 88 £ 16500.00
Violin Bow G/E 56 g. (later frog) Tue 1st November 88 £ 15426.00
Cello Bow S/E 79 g. Sun 1st November 87 £ 15400.00
Violin Bow S/E 57 g. Wed 1st April 87 £ 8800.00
Violin Bow S/E 60 g. (later frog) Wed 1st April 87 £ 9900.00
Violin Bow G/T 60 g. Sat 1st November 86 £ 28600.00
Violin Bow Ivory 39 g. without hair nor winding Mon 1st December 08 £ 13822.00
Cello Bow G/I 80 g. (frog & button by "E. Pajeot") Wed 1st June 05 £ 24150.00

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