Violin Bow by Eugène Cuniot-Hury, Mirecourt
This violin bow has now sold.
About Eugène Cuniot-Hury
Cuniot-Hury was born in Mirecourt, one of the centres of French violin and bow making, and trained as a bow maker with his father. He was born plain Eugène Cuniot, adding his wife´s surname to his own upon their marriage. Cuniot-Hury took over his father´s workshop in 1884 and began to make bows which demonstrate the influence of Charles Nicholas Bazin.
If you are interested in comparing the two makers, a bow by C. N. Bazin can be found here. As the workshop became more successful, Cuniot-Hury employed several assistants, most notably Émile François Ouchard. The workshop was continued by Ouchard after Cuniot-Hury´s death in 1910.
About the bow
The bow weighs 58 grams and the mounts are silver and ebony.
How does it play?
The bow is typical of the great French making that was going on during this period: it´s very easy to use, deftly handling quick changes in the music. Tonally the bow is very successful and is particularly suited to flexible, responsive instruments.
Condition
Full condition report available. This violin bow has a piece of wood let in near the head: this was done by the maker whilst the bow was being made, as opposed to being a repair which took place at a later date. Clearly Cuniot-Hury really wanted to use this particular piece of wood, despite it being too narrow: his solution was to join another piece of wood to the bow blank before beginning the making process.
This choice has proved to be sound in that the join has never moved and the bow is entirely secure, however it does mean that the price is lowered to take the let in into account. The button is unoriginal, making the bow even more affordable.