A Violin Bow By Ouchard Pere, Cuniot-Hury Workshop, Circa 1915.

Émile Francois Ouchard (Pere) (1872-1951) began his apprenticeship with Eugene Cuniot-Hury at the age of 14 and assumed the mantle of leadership over the workshop upon the death of Cuniot-Hury in 1910 in partnership with the widow Cuniot. He married Josephine Collin in 1896 and had a son in 1900, Émile August Ouchard, who would become one of the most celebrated achetiers of the 20th century. Emile Francois’ son worked with him from the age of 13, collaborating for the better part of 27 years, first at the workshop of Cuniot-Hury, and from 1923, at Emile Francois Ouchard’s independent Mirecourt workshop, which employed up to fifteen bow makers at any given time by 1936. He ran his own workshop until his death in 1951, except for 1937-1940, during which Emile August Ouchard (Fils) assumed leadership (before leaving the family workshop to establish independently in Paris). Emile Francois’ artistry, procedural organization and attention to detail contributed to the great successes of his son and other protégés, which included Paul Audinot, Francois Lotte, Marcel Mangenot, Louis Brugerè, Raymond and Andre Richaume, and many others.

This highly characteristic example of Emile Francois Ouchard’s work from about 1915 remains unstamped, a good representation of his style both after assuming leadership of the Cuniot-Hury workshop and before establishing the family atelier in 1923. Mounted in nickel and Ebony, with silk on tinsel lapping and a lizard leather thumb grip, this bow is finely crafted from high quality pernambuco, rounded and perfectly balanced at 59 grams; presenting in good condition throughout, with minimal wear to the frog along the slide, this bow readily demonstrates the finesse and artistry in performing qualities that would so greatly influence French bowmaking of the 20th century.