Jules Fétique ca. 1920

Description

Very good cello bow by Jules FÉTIQUE (1875 – 1951) from around 1920.

Jules FÉTIQUE learned bow making from Émile MIQUEL in Mirecourt and then worked with Charles-Nicolas BAZIN. From 1902 onwards, he worked in Paris for Eugène SARTORY, whose style he closely followed. A distinguishing feature—also seen in our cello bow—is that he used three screws instead of two for attaching the round head to the frog. In 1917, he joined the well-known Parisian firm CARESSA et FRANCAIS. From 1920 onwards, this workshop carried the name Albert CARESSA, which is also stamped on our bow. He is now considered one of the finest bow makers in France and was therefore awarded the title “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” (One of the Finest Craftsmen of France) in 1927. Although he was permanently employed by Albert CARESSA, he continued to work for Eugène SARTORY, whose style he also continued to maintain.

However, due to the economic crisis, his work at Albert CARESSA ended in 1934, and he became self-employed. This marked the end of his collaboration with Eugéne SARTORY, and his style also changed: the bows became stronger and more robust, more in the style of the ‘Peccatte school’.

The round stick of our bow is made of excellent Pernambuco. The ebony frog has a simple mother-of-pearl eye. Its ferrule is fixed with 2 pins and the round button with 3 pins (as in Sartory). The three-part mount (silver-ebony-silver) carries a pin in each metal ring.

The bow weighs 80 grams with a standard silver winding. All metal parts are made of silver.

The outstanding quality of Jules FÉTIQUE is also praised in the book by Bernard MILLANT and Jean Francois RAFFIN with the following sentence:

Jules FÉTIQUE is without any doubt one of the great bow makers of the first half of the 20th century.

Certificate

There is a Certificate of Authenticity for our cello bow from the Cabinet d’Archetiers Experts Jean-Francois RAFFIN, Yannick LE CANU, Sylvain BIGOT.  (click here).

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