Nicolas Pierre (Père) Tourte
c.1700–1764
Violin and bow maker. Father of François Xavier and Nicolas Léonard Tourte, above. Violin cited by Vannes: medium arching with long sound-holes and a nicely cut female’s head in place of scroll. Manuscript label: Pierre Tourte / Fait à Paris, 1747 — John Dilworth
Auction Price History
Highest auction price
11 results
| Type | Details | Auction house | Sold | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violin Bow | Baroque amourette stick only, head crack, otherwise good condition Lot 2350 | — | June 2025 | £3,374est. € 500-600 |
| Cello Bow | Louvois-Hel family collection, amourette stick, later frog, bone button, minus hair, unlapping, blemishes Lot 145 | — | November 2023 | £16,217est. € 8.000-10.000 |
| Violin Bow | Amourette stick, ivory frog by F.X. Tourte, unhaired, frog and mortice blemishes, very good condition Lot 41 | — | April 2021 | £9,381est. € 2.500-2.750 |
| Violin Bow | Amourette stick, later frog and button, unhaired and unlapping, stick and head blemishes, good condition Lot 328 | — | November 2019 | £8,000est. € 5.000-6.000 |
| Violin Bow | Bernard Millant collection, illustrated in L'Archet, tome I, p. 52, n. 1; head and ivory button blemishes Lot 107 | — | November 2017 | £24,816est. € 10.000-12.000 |
| Cello Bow | Fluted octagonal stick unstamped, open trench ivory frog atypical for this maker, bone button Lot 29 | — | October 2016 | £9,000est. £ 4,000-6,000 |
| Violin Bow | Fluted octagonal stick in snakewood unstamped, open trench amourette frog Lot 66 | — | March 2016 | £2,640est. £ 1,500-2,200 |
| Violin Bow | Exotic wood stick, unhaired and unlapping, stick and point blemishes Lot 289 | — | June 2014 | £1,451est. € 800-1.000 |
| Cello Bow | Baroque bow, ironwood fluted stick, ivory frog, minor point and frog blemishes, otherwise good condition Lot 124 | — | March 2014 | £8,233est. € 2.000-3.000 |
| Violin Bow | Amourette stick, unhaired and unlapping, frog and mortice blemishes Lot 138 | — | December 2012 | £14,635est. € 3.000-4.000 |
| Violin Bow | Ivory 63 g. fluted stick | — | June 2011 | £18,000 |
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Biographies
The overview above is drawn from the following published accounts. Read them in the original:
John Dilworth+
TOURTE, Nicolas Pierre (Père) Born circa. 1700, died 1764 Paris France. Violin and bow maker. Father of François Xavier and Nicolas Léonard Tourte, above. Violin cited by Vannes: medium arching with long sound-holes and a nicely cut female’s head in place of scroll. Manuscript label: Pierre Tourte / Fait à Paris, 1747
Cecie Stainer+
Settled in Paris about 1740. Was a clever bow maker ; his work showed great improvement on that of his predecessors; he used lighter wood and proportioned his bow more accurately, giving it the backward bend indispensable to its elasticity. He invented the nut worked by a propelling and withdrawing screw, the nut and head of the screw were generally of ivory. The bows are elegantly fluted for half or the whole of the length, the head is lighter and more elegant. He had two sons, Xaver and the celebrated François.
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Pupils
Nicolas Leonard Tourte Pupil