Brian Tunnicliffe French Double Bass Bow In Ivory & Silver With Additional Frog In Ebony & Silver

This exceptional bow was originally made in 1987 as an ivory mounted bow and being only one of two or three ivory French double bass bows that he made during his career can be considered a true "collector's item". The bow is branded with the numbers 87 49 on the stick beneath the frog which means that this is the 49^th bow that he made in 1987. With a weight of 140gms this is a fairly heavy bow - however it does sit nicely on the string and plays like a dream. At the time of making, ivory was still very much a permitted medium and legally widely available. Indeed when Tunnicliffe purchased a whole tusk from H. Harris Ivory Ltd in St, Ives, Cornwall he was provided with full Cites certification that the raw ivory had been legally obtained and was saleable. Due to the recent Cites restrictions on the cross-border sale and movement of ivory into various countries that were introduced following the making of the bow, a second frog, this time in ebony and silver was made and fitted to the stick by Mr Tunnicliffe in April 2021 at the fine old age of 87. At the same time a new solid silver button was made and the ivory faceplate was changed to silver. In short this means that the bow now avoids any potential problems for the player passing through customs whilst on tour and it can be legally sold at any time as the original ivory frog can be "gifted" with the bow. 

Length of Stick - 660mm
Weight as silver and ebony bow - 130gms
Weight as silver and ivory bow - 140gms

Reference number #2812