Wood
and Materials
Snakewood (letterwood)
The
original! Snakewood varies in color from yellow to dark reddish-brown.
With its rosetta stone dark pattern, and a grain that finishes like marble,
this wood was the obvious choice for the finest early bows. I am aware
of snakewood bows from the later 17th century, but there may be examples
much earlier. I suspect that once bow making became more than a merely
utilitarian endeavor---once it was viewed, like violin making, as an art---the
choice of materials was taken more seriously. Snakewood was certainly
used throughout the 18th century, in every country where fine bows were
created. Characteristically, bows from snakewood have little or no camber.
They were straight until a frog was inserted under the hair, making the
bows slightly or more significantly convex. Snakewood only went into decline
late in the 18th century when the added length made the weight and relative
flexibility of this wood impractical.
My
opinion is that many of the old French bows identified as "Amourette"
are in fact unfigured snakewood, usually from the deep heartwood of the
tree.
Brosimum
guianense: |
Varies
from highly figured to plain --Amourette. |
|