It is noticeable that once again Sartory prices are are on the rise, Understandably so in a worldwide bow market where the pressure on prices shows no sign whatsoever of calming down.
It was a pleasure to have these two Exhibition bows together for a few days. There are two Gold and Tortoiseshell Sartory bows available from August at Peter Hembrough Bows. It is an honour to offer them to the discerning violinist capable of lateral thinking.
Made from his best deep red pernambuco and from perhaps his best period of circa 1914, this bow was destined to not stay in the collection for too long. In the event it managed to stay for four days before an international chamber musician based in Spain bought the bow.
Increasingly difficult to source Peter Hembrough Bows pride themselves on being able to find the most desirable bows at the most competitive prices. A lucky new owner.
Vartan Manoogian was a first class violinist imbued with an innate sense of inner pulse and form. Listening to his complete solo Bach recording (where he uses his stunning J.B. Guadagnini and this beautiful Sartory) it is clear that he was a thoughtful musician of the highest level.
For many years he was the leader of the Swiss Romande Orchestra before spending the latter part of his career as a revered teacher at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
The main auction at Vichy this year had just under five hundred lots, mostly of the lower end of the market but with some excellent rare pieces here and there.
Read MoreIn 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.
I am delighted with my octagonal Sartory bow, such a joy to play on – thank you Peter for bringing us together
Read MoreI have watched in some amazement over the last couple of years as the bow market has stubbornly rejected the recession and continued to climb. As a dealer I had hoped that prices might stumble but it seems that the market has an insatiable appetite for quality and is in no mood to change
Read MoreIn 1972 a violin dealer - lets call him Albert – was walking around the historic city of York when he saw a busker playing the violin. Every now and then the busker tried to flip coins given from the floor into his violin case using his bow!
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