violin bow c.1880
This bow was stamped by Béla Szepessy from around 1880. I know only two bows stamped by him, they are definitely the works of the same master. They show the marks of the German school, they are ripe, mature and tasteful stylish works of art representing the best quality of bow making of the age.
violin bow c. 1920
Béla Szepessy made this bow around 1920.
violin bow c.1900
In contrast to the works of Béla Szepessy, it is obvious that this bow was made by Lajos Köhler and not a German master, since it does not show the characteristic style of the German school at all. This charming bow made around 1900 is more so the work of a self-taught man. It is made of beautiful pernambuco with two knots in it.
violin bow c. 1910
This stick without a frog with the stamp of Pál Pilát was most probably made around 1910 in a master workshop in Markneukirchen. Planed beautifully, also carrying the marks of the Hermann Richard Pfretzschner school. Most probably it was made by one of the apprentices.
violin bow c. 1900
This bow made around 1900 was stamped by András Bergmann. It was most likely constructed in a German workshop and stamped in Budapest.
cello bow c. 1920
This cello bow was stamped by András Bergmann around 1920. The special characteristic of the pernambucco stick is that the head was lifted by an inlay of the same material in order to reach the necessary size. Knowing the economic situation of Hungary in the 1920s obviously this wasn't an expensive bow and most likely it was made in Germany.
violin bow
This violin bow stick was stamped in Mihály Reményi's workshop. The original frog and bolt head have been lost, the marks of an improper change of bone on the head can be seen. It was meant to be a good quality student bow made of brazilwood, most likely from the early 20th century Germany.
violin bow c. 1910
This violin bow was made by Antal Klier in Szeged around 1910. This unique piece of work was part of the Géza Molnár Collection.
Telmányi VEGA BACH BOW violin bow 1949
This special bow is the most exotic piece of our collection.
Emil Telmányi was a Hungarian violinist who settled down in Copenhagen in 1919. He constructed this bow there in cooperation with Knud Vestergaard, a Danish violin maker in 1949. Their intention was to use it for the authentic presentation of Bach’s pieces for solo violin.
violin bow
Between 1975 and 1992 István Kónya made bows as well as stringed instruments. One of his works from the 1980s.
violin bow
After the Second World War Pál Sáránszky made a number of double bass bows. Later in the 1990s he made some further bows. This bow was made in 1995.
cello bow
This octagonal cello bow was made by József Horváth in 2008.
violin bow
Between 1989 and 2004 Lajos Kónya made bows as well as stringed intsruments. This violin bow was made in the 1990s.
viola bow
Sándor Radics was also one of József Horváth’s apprentices, but his recent works are evidence of his personal style. A viola bow by him.
violin bow
The works of János Lakatos show the influence of his master, József Horváth’s school. One of his violin bows.
double bass bow
This octagonal double bass bow was constructed and donated by László Várady-Szabó.
cello bow
This cello bow was made by Géza Sáli. If I remember well it was in 2004 when Géza worked with us for a week in Göd. We were each making a bow side by side, when finished we swapped, Géza gave me his and I gave him mine. We had a plenty of fun and learnt a lot from each other that week.
Baroque bow
This interesting baroque bow was constructed by János Martin. The stick is made of cocoa tree, the frog is of the outer parts of a beautiful ebony tree. Half black heartwood, half white sapwood.
Baroque bow
This bow by László Lakatos was based on a model of an Italian bow from around 1720. The stick is made of snakewood and the frog is of wavy fibred boxwood.
cello bow
This cello bow was made by Bernd Etzler in 2013.
violin bow
Paul Sadka is a bow maker living in England who worked in Italy, Hungary and France before. This elegant bow was constructed around 2000 while living in Budapest. A Sadka bow 'made in Hungary'.
cello bow
A special cello bow by Tamás Sziráki constructed for the International Cello Bow Making Competition in Manchester in 2004.
Baroque bow
This baroque bow was made by Balázs Gollob.
violin bow
This violin bow was made by Károly Gáspár.
violin bow
This violin bow was made by András Nagy in 2015.
cello bow
This cello bow was made by Tamás Ferencz for the International Cello Bow Making Competition in Manchester in 2004.
viola bow
This viola bow was made by Gábor Fodor in 2005.
cello bow
A special cello bow by Péter Iványi constructed for the International Cello Bow Making Competition in Manchester in 2004.
violin bow
This violin bow was made by Tibor Kovács in Cremona. Tibor is the youngest of the exhibiting bow makers. Since the bows are listed chronologically according to the date of birth of the makers, this bow — after Béla Szepessy’s ’overture’ — is the ’closing chord’ of the exhibition. I deliberately did not analyze the works of my contemporary colleagues, but with the last bow in the list I decided to break this rule.
Tibor’s works evokes the design of the early French school (around 1800) without imitating them.
