This fine Australian violin by W.H. Dow (born 1835 in Scotland, died 1927 in Melbourne) had unfortunately been severely scratched by some previous owner. It seems likely that this was done to give the violin the appearance of having a two-piece back. I also found a fake Lupot label inside the instrument and so it seems that a concerted effort (though extremely misguided) was made to pass this violin off as made by another maker.
Regardless of the possible reasons behind the damage inflicted on this fine violin, the scratch needed to be removed. The lovely highly-flamed maple one-piece back made this is a particularly challenging varnish retouch.
Please click on the first image below to scroll through this restoration project.