Several years ago I discussed with a dealer colleague based in Australia my need for a good Dominique Peccatte bow to add to my collection. It would have to have some damage since good examples are now selling for as much as £130,000. He told me of the only dealer he felt could help and at the same time keep the price reasonable. This man spends his life travelling round the world dealing in bows and is both honourable and a successful business man.

After making some enquiries on my behalf he contacted me a year ago to tell me he had located a bow but needed to have it checked out since Dominique Peccatte can be tricky to attribute. So in March of 2010 we met in London and I visited his hotel to view the bow.  Of course you do your homework, discussing with your colleagues what to look for, whilst trying out as many fine examples as you can lay your hands on.

Generally speaking fine bows by the best makers speak to you within the first few minutes and it was clear to me that the bow was indeed correct. So without any haggling (you never regret buying quality) I paid for the bow and we went out to celebrate with a fine meal, a lovely evening.

In mid November I was yet again sitting with a world-renowned bow expert in Paris as he looked over this bow, and he came to the following conclusions:

As we look at the stick from head down what do we observe? The head has sadly suffered some minor damage. Skilfully restored we have, nevertheless, lost some of the distinctiveness of the crown of the head. On a happier note the chamfers are intact and are correct in several key areas. The comma, as you come round under the head into the stick, is in character and as you would expect. As we travel down the bow the unique triangular section throughout the bow is as one would want. On the handle we have a first class example of a correct font and size brand. Sadly the frog is not by Dominique but is most likely to be by Pierre Simon (although two other experts claim the frog is by Dominique). The button is by Dominique save the nearest silver band, this is a later replacement.

So there we have it, my thirty-four year wait to own a Peccatte bow is over!  Don't expect me to sell it without a fight!