Étienne Pajeot (1791-1849)

Étienne Pajeot earned a place in music history as one of the best bowmakers of the early nineteenth century. The son of Mirecourt archetier Louis Simon Pajeot, he apprenticed in the family workshop. His father died when Pajeot was 13, but Pajeot continued his training, and by 1815, he had started producing bows under his own name. Pajeot’s workshop prospered, and he went on to train the next generation of French archetiers, including Nicolas Maire, Claiude Joseph Fonclause, and, most likely, Nicolas Maline. Pajeot was extremely discerning when choosing his materials, and, combined with his exceptional craftsmanship, his bows maintained a high level of excellence across his extensive output.

Pajeot’s early bows hew closely to his father’s model, but by 1820 he had developed his own mature style, marked by narrow heads, high frogs, and short buttons. Although he never made the move from Mirecourt to Paris, Pajeot kept up with the trends being explored by archetiers in the capital. He was unafraid of experimentation, and his innovative construction techniques had a lasting impact on French bow-making. Pajeot’s work using metal to reinforce fragile areas, such as the frog, proved particularly influential. All of this experimentation reached an apotheosis in the 1840s, and bows from this late period are considered his best.