This month we have two Sidney Yeoman Hill bows and William Watson bow with no damage for sale. The Hill bows are both top of the range stamped W.E. Hill and sons.
One is silver and ebony with a plain frog, the other is a Gold and Tortoiseshell Fleur de Lys both dating from the late 1920's. Here is also a rare opportunity to buy a Gold and Tortoiseshell William Watson Coronet model bow.
In what was generally a lacklustre auction week here in London there were however two rather exceptional bows offered.
The first was on Tuesday at Sotheby’s, a wonderful gold and tortoiseshell bow by Emile Auguste Ouchard from the late 1940′s. This bow was very good value at £16,000. The other highlight was a mint example Sartory circa 1930 it is indeed rare to see genuine ‘as new’ Sartory bows these days. This bow went to a top Japanese dealer who fought off several Parisian dealers to buy for £16,000, needless to say in discussion later he was elated with his purchase.
Generally French bows continued to climb in price, English bows remained static, the exception being a fine Hill Fleur-de-Lys bow that sold for £10,000.
This is a common question that occurs quite frequently from requests from all around the globe. So below is the beginning of the definitive list. Most players have a stable of bows (Oistrakh used to buy a bunch on his trips to Paris) but also tend to have a favourite that they use more than others
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