What am I looking at?

[schuy]

Hi all. I have this fiddle that seems odd to me. 
 

The purfling looks scratched on. The repaired cracks don’t seem to be repaired cracks at all, as they don’t seem to go all the way through the wood. My take is that they are “antiquing…” same for the ostensibly grafted scroll. 
 

Is this just a German factory violin that someone had some fun with? Or a rustic maker? Maybe English? 
 

It feels very solid. I don’t see any corner blocks in there… what am I looking at???

thanks in advance and I apologize for my previous post. I will be more thoughtful. The experts here are incredible and provide exceptional knowledge for free. Who am I to judge their delivery? Seriously. 
 

Anyways, take a looksie if you feel like it. Thanks. 

[FiddleDoug]

It doesn't look odd to me. It looks like exactly what it is. A cheap and nasty dutzenarbiet, in poor condition, that has had its varnish stripped off.

[Brad Dorsey]

schuy:  Violins like yours, with fake cracks, fake neck grafts and fake ebony pins, are not terribly uncommon — they often have Schweitzer labels — but this is the first one I've seen that also has fake purfling.

[schuy]

13 minutes ago, Brad Dorsey said:

schuy:  Violins like yours, with fake cracks, fake neck grafts and fake ebony pins, are not terribly uncommon, but this is the first one I've seen that also has fake purfling.

Ok thanks. I am curious, would someone in this fiddle’s past have done fake graft and crack repairs in an attempt to put lipstick on the pig, or was the lipstick applied at birth? 

[Guido]

43 minutes ago, FiddleDoug said:

It doesn't look odd to me. It looks like exactly what it is. A cheap and nasty dutzenarbiet, in poor condition, that has had its varnish stripped off.

I'd say it's in excellent condition and looks just about like it did the day it was made.

Caussin school inspired antiquing, German trade violin of average merit.

[schuy]

17 minutes ago, Guido said:

I'd say it's in excellent condition and looks just about like it did the day it was made.

Caussin school inspired antiquing, German trade violin of average merit.

Do you disagree then with Fiddledoug that the varnish was stripped off?
 

I wasn’t gonna argue with him since he’s probably right for the most part in his sentiment, but yes, I don’t see it as being in particularly poor condition for what it is.

No cracks or repairs (the photo looks like it has a heel crack but that line is actually just a blob of something).
 

Anyway, just figured I’d pull it from the old wood pile and see what y’all think. I’ll probably carve a bridge for it and see how she plays. 

[Riccardo964]

What does the label say?

[Guido]

2 hours ago, schuy said:

Do you disagree then with Fiddledoug that the varnish was stripped off?
 

I wasn’t gonna argue with him since he’s probably right for the most part in his sentiment, but yes, I don’t see it as being in particularly poor condition for what it is.

I'd also disagree with his sentiment. Not a cheap and nasty violin. Well worth setting up.

I can't exclude the varnish being partially stripped (especially with more darker vanish on the head). However, my guess would be it was part of the original antiquing effort.

 

[schuy]

1 hour ago, Riccardo964 said:

What does the label say?

No label or markings that I can find. 

 

21 minutes ago, Guido said:

I'd also disagree with his sentiment. Not a cheap and nasty violin. Well worth setting up.

I can't exclude the varnish being partially stripped (especially with more darker vanish on the head). However, my guess would be it was part of the original antiquing effort.

 

Oh, interesting! I welcome your positivity! I know it's not a violin that is going to be worth much, dollar wise, but if it's a decent fiddle, that would be neat. We'll see how she sounds. Sometimes the lack of corner blocks, while not something I would seek out, can actually be a good thing, sound-wise, IMO. 

[schuy]

As far as the varnish, I see no areas that appear to be missing varnish, so if it was stripped, it was revarnished, and compared to the nightmares I have seen in the past when someone does that, this one looks to me like the varnish on there, original or not, was at least applied pretty skillfully. 

The color on my original photos is not accurate now that I look again. Far too yellow. I wonder if that was what led to the stripped varnish conclusion? This is closer to reality, although still not showing as much red as when looked at in person:

[Brad Dorsey]

7 hours ago, schuy said:

Ok thanks. I am curious, would someone in this fiddle’s past have done fake graft and crack repairs in an attempt to put lipstick on the pig, or was the lipstick applied at birth? 

It was made this way.