Wood Butcher

There is a big difference to softening a sharp corner on the thumb projection, compared to hacking it away to nothing.

They may have said that, it doesn’t mean they are correct.

No.

Looks like a mass-produced, cheapish post-war nickel mounted bow, from Germany or Czechoslovakia.

Yes, it looks entirely like "a usual", so can safely dispel any notion that it was once baroque, in any form.

It's a saying. "Every cloud has a silver lining" Which means, there is still something positive, despite one thing being a disappointment.

Every cloud.... As they say.

Chat GPT has made you a viola. The double-headed pegs are a nice touch. Increased tuning efficiency from having two strings on one peg

Perhaps "repaired" by a YouTube celebrity, in their shed. Happy New Year, Jacob!

It looks like someone had a go at it, without removing the bar. Perhaps the customer didn't want to spend the money to have it done correctly. Looks like there is a lot of other damage to the belly apart from this crack.

There is a line on the back from end to end, on the right-hand side. On the left there is a similar line, only in the upper bout. Can't tell if these are some kind of reflection, or something else. The horrid retouched varnish in the centre of the back is a bit concerning too.

Perhaps they drew round a shark's tooth, to get that shape and length!

I get kind of tired hearing about shops in this way. They do offer a service, have premises to maintain, expertise (hopefully), and are bound by laws. So, as a consumer, you have some rights to go along with your purchase. Or you can ignore all of that, and take some hopeful shots in the dark, probably getting burned many times in the process. Also, why have you jumped to the conclusion this cello is Italian, and not something from the Bohemian side of the border?

This edgework, and purfling placement, is reminiscent of some violins labelled E.R. Schmidt in Markneukirchen

I'll be honest, if someone was offering to do all of this for $200, I wouldn't even trust them to open the case.