Made c.1815-20, the bow fetched €375,000 at the Vichy Enchères auction house in France
A cello bow by François Xavier Tourte sold on 4 December for €375,000 at the Vichy Enchères auction house in France – a world record for a cello bow. Made between 1815 and 1820, the bow has two engravings: ‘UBER’ and ‘K.A.B’, both indicating the name of its former owner, the cellist Karl Alexander Benjamin Uber (1783–1824).
Made with a pernambuco stick, the bow features an octagonal button, a silver headplate and a Parisian eye with ebony, marking the beginning of Tourte’s so-called ‘golden period’.
Alexander Uber was a noted cellist of his day. He embarked on his first concert tour in Germany in 1804, at only 21 years of age, and met with great success. He later became Kapellmeister in several ensembles around Germany. He was also a noted composer of his day, and among his works are a Cello Concerto in G major, which he dedicated to his friend Carl Maria von Weber. He also wrote overtures for orchestra, various lieder and several chamber music pieces. He was known for arranging or transcribing works by composers including Mozart and Beethoven, as evidenced by published editions and correspondence with Schott Music.
The world record for a violin bow, also made by F.X. Tourte, stands at €576,000. This sale also took place at Vichy Enchères, on 30 November 2017.
Read: ‘The great artistry of history’s most important bow maker’ - François Xavier Tourte
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