Viola Bow by Louis Henri Gillet

Louis Henri Gillet (1891–1970) was born in Nancy and likely trained in Mirecourt before working for Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy from 1906 to 1911, serving in World War I, and joining the Laberte firm in 1921. By the late 1920s he had settled in Chalon-sur-Saône, where he established his own workshop supplying bows to various shops; early examples, some branded “Lavest,” reflect his Mirecourt background. In 1934, following Jules Fétique’s departure from Eugène Sartory’s workshop, Gillet was hired as his replacement, and his work thereafter adopted the powerful, refined characteristics associated with Sartory, with rounded heads and stamps on both sides of the handle, until Sartory’s death in 1946. Gillet then worked briefly for Sartory’s son-in-law, Georges Dupuy, in a relationship that proved difficult and short-lived. In his later years he increasingly favored a Peccatte-style model, with stronger, squarer heads, stouter frogs, and occasional Hill underslides; between 1950 and 1960 his work reached a particularly high level, often mounted in gold and ivory or tortoiseshell while still showing the lasting influence of Sartory.

Stamp: DOUPUY A PARIS

Shape: Round 

Wood: Pernambuco 

Mounting: Silver Full Mount

Weight: 74.0g

Certification: LAVS

SKU: PB2027-CL-C

Level: Professional