JEAN JOSEPH MARTIN - 1880/85

What you see below, besides being a beautiful violin bow, it represents for me a small reason of satisfaction, and now I will tell you the story from the beginning.

Violin bow by Jean Joseph Martin 1880/85

Some months ago...

... I was in a colleague luthier's workshop, who while exchanging words, tells me he has two bows he wishes to sell: one duly certificated by M° J. F. Raffin, a Morizot, and another one, a Francois Nicolas Voirin, not certified.

I look at the first one and it was actually a Morizot, he handed me the second one and while he is about to say to whom this bow had been ascribed I exclaimed: "Hello Joseph," "Who?", "Jean Joseph Martin" I say. He looks at me with a strange glance and says, "No, it not Martin, it is supposed to be a Voirin." I tell him that "it is absolutely impossible, a Martin is so pure, he can not be mistaken for a Voirin." Either because he did not know me so well, either because the other opinion was far more authoritative; he did not believe me.

Two weeks ago...

I was back by my colleague and I told him that shortly that I was going to make a visit to my Parisians colleagues in Rue de Rome. "Why don't you bring the Voirin with you to let it certify ." Answer: "I will be happy to bring the Martin with me."

Last week ...

So I brought the bow to M° B. Millant, who certified it as done by J.J. Martin between 1880 and 1885, and he congratulated with me , because to find such pure and well-preserved bows belonging to this period is not that easy !

And now about the bow.

As explained in the post dedicated to him  (J.J. MARTIN: THE LAST GREAT ONE ), the lines of his heads somehow remind those one of his well-known predecessor, Jean Pierre Marie Persoit.

The bevel is very generous and wide, and in contrast to D. Peccatte, it doesn't close on the arrival on the shoe but remains large, just as in Persoit. The wedge of the head is soft and roundish, even if, after being influenced by Voirin, who had studied in Vuillaume's workshop in the mid-fifties of the nineteenth century, it is slipping backwards.

The geometry of the head is more open than Persoit, but it still maintains a natural light, even though more roughly finished than how the more famous colleague did.

I do not know why, but all my favorite craftmen are left handed, a friend said that lefties have a plus because they work with the hand of the heart.

Of course, as you can see from the line of the ridge and how the cheeks of the head are hollowed , also Jean Joseph Martin was one of them .

And now Martin's real trademark: the frog.

This frog is wonderful ! A pure example of the style of this great. As already written, the frog had found his stylistic square shape crossing two other ones.

It is square in profile, like those of his master Nicolas Maline, but taking some from Peccatte, it enters a lot at the very top of the throat. But developing the circumferential direction of the winding, it gets a lightening of the throat. While D. Peccatte, that develops toward the button, makes it aggressive.

The ebony is superb. Extremely rare to find nowadays, it is practically without pores, an excellent piece of ebony from Madagascar.

Even the support is a classic by Martin. The famous round, not octagonal support named " Vuillaume-style".

This type of support, was studied in order to lighten the support of the frog. Since it has a round support , one may hollow the cheeks at a wider extent, without giving it an awkward effect.

Support " Vuillaume-style "

The button is a classic Martin. In three parts, with double flat collar , the second of which very fine, rings attached with two small nails , not on the same side of the octagon, and bottom in solid silver without pearl.

So long.

Paolo.