Viola da Gamba

signé et daté en bas gauche : "A. Bouys pinx.t et sculp.t 1704" * sous le portrait : "Marin Marais / ordinaire de la Musique de la Chambre du Roy"

To my knowledge there are no preserved French baroque viola da gamba bows known. Many bow makers made a guess how they could have been. I based my guess on a painting of Marin Marais from Andre Bouys, dated 1704, from the Musée de la Musique in Paris and a print that is available from different sources.

Over the years I made several copies of this bow, with slight differences in weight and with two different frog fixations.
Most players preferred the clip-in frog, which seems the most logical solution.

 


Copy of a Bouman bow, c.1980.The stick is snakewood, the frog and button are mastodon (mammoth tusk). Weight: 72-78 grams.