Sold at Beares in London for $288,960 – the most ever paid at auction for a violin bow.

An 1825 silver and ebony mounted violin bow, by luthier François Xavier Tourte, set a new world record on Monday when it sold at auction for the equivalent of $288,960, the highest price ever paid for a bow at auction. The bow is believed to have been owned by the celebrated Polish violinist Bronislaw Huberman and it bears his engraved initials on the ferule. Sold at Beares in London, a statement from the auction house indicated that the bow had been purchased by a professional musician and would continue to make music.

The engraved ferule

39 other musical items, including a selection of fine string instruments, some valued up to $250,000, were sold at the same sale, which in total raised in excess of $2.7 million.