martin swan

Well, I can only excuse myself by saying that I never see this kind of violin. To be honest, it looks very old-fashioned to me, more like mid-20th century.

I know ... but if it's post 1930 or so it all falls apart anyway. I can't remember what it was but I know I have sold a late-ish Mirecourt violin which looked just like this. Which is not to say it wasn't bought in ...

I will make a fool of myself and say ... something like a later Apparut or even later Dieudonné

If it's a half size Mittenwald these are worth quite a bit, even with a little bit of missing edge and a tiny crack. If your standards are high, why are you buying at auction? Why not go to a reputable dealer where you can look at things first?

1. Not hard if it's yours - very hard if you take it to a professional! it will involve much sucking of teeth and scratching of the head in the vicinity of a calculator 2. not necessarily, depends how far the crack travels up the bar ... in this case I think we might bleach the crack and squeeze in some runny glue and rely on the bassbar to hold the repair (if the bassbar is actually on top of the crack) 3. all of it with the right approach - with Mirecourt violins of this era they often have a very tough varnish and you can maybe use a solvent 4. the back gives a clue as to the original finish - very minor shading - the entire table and scroll is covered in black gunk which will come off

The angle of the chamfers is typical of MK bows. The classic French approach is to set the chamfers at 45 degrees (ish) to the back of the head - these are much closer to the plane of the back of the head.

Haynes were general string dealers - this looks more German to me at first glance.

I don't think you're seeing through the gunk ... A good mid-19th century Mirecourt violin might sell for quite a bit, and it doesn't need much more than glueing back together. Surely Woodman is planning to do the work ...?

It will look a lot better when all the black gunk is removed ...

I would have thought Mirecourt circa 1850-70 ...

have you ever looked at the purfling on a Cappa?

Not sure why ...

not you ...!

For me this kind of irregularity would point very firmly away from China. It looks more like an accomplished hobby maker - why not an Italian? There's nothing special about Italian violins - some good, some bad.

I''m sure she has refused several. Hilary Hahn is unique - I seem to remember reading that she just didn't want the stress. Nor did she want to be distracted by learning to play a new instrument when she was perfectly happy with the one she has. And any great player would "get along fine without one".