Bows are fitted with materials from all over the world. Other than jewellery and ornaments, nothing is made of so many diverse and wonderful components. Pernambuco and ebony woods, ivory or bone, tortoiseshell, horn, whalebone, mother of pearl, horse hair, leather, silver, nickel silver or gold, these materials are sourced - or used to be sourced - from far and wide and are a testament to a European history of exploration, colonisation and seafaring trade. We are increasingly