first 900's Acoustic "BELCANTO" ERNST HOFMANN  Made in Germany, Solid spruce top, Solid maple back and sides, Rare Model. Comes in nice profession hard case. code AC153

Sculpted head of a woman with gathered hair, they show up on french as well as german violins, solid guitar with Ebony fingerboard, now set with Nylon strings, but holds 010 bronze strings well with an even louder and stronger sound. Straight neck with nice low action, good frets. The various crack lines on the top have been healed,  The back is an incredible single piece of maple with no breaks or cracks. The instruments with that head are typically described as a "fancy" violin. You can find examples in the old retail catalogs that are compiled in Roy Ehrhardt's series "Violin Price and Identification Guide."