Nikolaus Kittel

Who was Nikolaus Kittel?

Nikolai Kittel, fully Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel was a Russian bow maker who until recently thought to be of German origin, and was known as the "Russian Tourte". According to the latest findings, we now know that his full name was Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel and that he was actually of Austrian origin as it is stated in his marriage certificate. Kittel himself always signed letters and invoices with the name Nikolai Kittel. In all German and French documents, he is named Nikolai, no single time as Nikolaus.

Kittel was an enigmatic figure. He is known to have employed some of the leading makers, including Russian, Vladimir Ivanoff, and German makers such as Heinrich Knopf, to make his bows.

In Czarist Russia N. Kittel served as violinmaker to the court, making superb violins which were considered the best being made in Russia, and produced bows of unsurpassed quality, often using beautiful highly flamed wood.

The design of Kittel bows is also derived from an advanced Tourte model although this interpretation of Tourte is distinctly different from the French interpretations.