Dominique Peccatte (1810-1874)
Arguably one of the most influential archetiers of the mid-nineteenth century, Dominique Peccatte was born in France’s bow-making capital of Mirecourt, but his first apprenticeship was as a hairdresser. However, in 1826, Nicolas Vuillaume recognized that Peccatte, who was beginning to study violin-making, had potential and sent him to join his brother, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume’s, Paris workshop.
There, Vuillaume encouraged Peccatte to study bow-making under Jean Pierre Marie Persoit. Peccatte seems to have developed a close personal relationship with his employer; Vuillaume stood as a witness (along with Georges Chanot) at Peccatte’s wedding, served as godfather to Peccatte’s oldest child, and even had a stint as Peccatte’s landlord. In 1836, Peccatte began working for François Lupot, although whether Peccatte left Vuillaume’s workshop entirely or was loaned out is unclear.
When Lupot died in 1838, Peccatte took over the atelier at the age of twenty-eight. During this period, he also provided bows for Vuillaume, Gand, and Maucotel. Peccatte’s brother, François, joined him as an assistant, as did Joseph Henry and Pierre Simon. In 1847, Peccatte ceded the Parisian workshop to Simon and came home to Mirecourt. He split his time between bowmaking and maintaining his family’s vineyards for almost three decades before retiring in 1872.
Peccatte’s mature style combines elements of Persoit and Tourte with his own creativity and spontaneity. His signature square-headed bows allow for powerful playing, making them highly desirable. He maintained a high level of quality across his impressively large and varied output, although bows produced between 1838 and 1847 are regarded as his most impressive. Peccatte’s early bows are stamped “Vuillaume à Paris,” and his later output bears the “Peccatte” stamp, although he also made a good amount of unstamped bows.
