POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Double bass bow made by Lennox Holt

Object No. 2009/3/6

The Powerhouse Museum's collection of Australian made violins and other bowed string instruments is without parallel. It features some of Australia's earliest and leading makers from the 1850s to the present day such as John Devereux, William Dow, AW Heaps, AE Smith, William Dolphin, Guy Aubrey Griffin and Harry Vatiliotis. Although many have followed established European traditions some makers have also adapted to the local environment by incorporating the use of local timbers or other design features in their work. Bow makers have also been a significant part of musical instrument making in Australia and some have also experimented with the use of local timbers or have achieved leading reputations for the quality of their work. Lennox Holt is one of Australia's finest specialist bow makers. Originally working in Brisbane where this bow was made he later moved to Melbourne. In 1983 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study with bow maker John Clutterbuck in England and in 1996 was awarded a Certificate of Merit for his work by the Violin Society of America at their international competition. This bow was the first double bass bow he made. It is also one of the first examples of his work to enter the museum's collection. The Powerhouse Museum's bow collection includes a range of bows made in both Australia and Europe. The majority are violin bows but there are also examples pertaining to the viola, cello and double bass. The collection features bows covering a range of makers and styles and spans over 300 years of bow development. There are several which are of great significance including one of the earliest clip-in frog bows in a public collection which is thought to date from the second half of the seventeenth century and several bows made by members of the Dodd family. Michael Lea Curator, music & musical instruments December, 2008