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The bow, named and originally styled after the apparatus used to direct an arrow, has come a long way since its inception and has evolved to meet both the needs of musicians and the demands of new musical styles. Modifications were made over time, but it took the genius of a French watchmaker turned
instrument craftsman to launch the era of the modern bow. François Xavier Tourte revolutionized the form. His changes, detailed here, resulted in a bow that would allow musicians to play more varied repertoires in larger venues—ultimately meeting the changing demands of the musical scene in the 19th century. Often likened to Stradivari in terms of his impact and innovative spirit, Tourte is the unrivaled master of the modern bow. This example, constructed in the 1790s, is from the start of the most coveted period of Tourte’s work.

The carved section on the back of the head, called the chamfer, appears to be executed in one cut. It shows the quick and deft movement of the artist’s hand—a testament to Tourte’s mastery with his knife.

Dissatisfied with the snakelike appearance of heads (the end of the bow opposite a musician’s hands) created in the past, Tourte fashions a bold, hatchet-shaped form, allowing the player to exert even tension at all points along the hair.

By this point in the bow’s evolution, the arch of the stick is curved toward the hair, the portion of the bow that strikes the instrument’s strings. This allows the frog, the ebony section at the end of the stick closest to the musician’s hand, to tighten its ribbon of horse hair, ultimately giving the player more control and articulation along the whole length of the stick.

The back and front walls of the mortise are undercut, meaning that the corners are not 90 degrees. Along with the woodworking on the head, this technique signals Tourte’s skilled ease in his handling of the work.

The frog is silver-mounted. The top heel plate, shown here, has three pins creating a triangular shape and the back heel plate has two. Tourte incorporates a pearl ‘slide’ to cover the hair. This change, in tandem with the silver ferrule, keeps the hair straight and provides even tension.

The thin rectangular section of pearl, shown here, slides out to give access to the mortise, the hollowed-out space that holds one end of the hair.

Tourte creates a button on the adjuster that is big and bold— just slightly wider in diameter than the stick, the long wooden section of the bow. Because it is larger and not level with the stick, it ensures that with repeated turnings the musician won’t wear down the end of the stick over time.

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