While not technically a sign of life, it is a small milestone on the way to looking and feeling like a healthy violin.
Here’s our poor little fiddle again. If there is a technical term for this part of the scroll, I don’t know it. It doesn’t have a structural role so much, but it is the terminus of a divinely inspired design. I have heard it called, among other things, the monkey butt. How droll.
Whatever it’s called, in this condition it was a poke in the eye every time you picked this fiddle up.
So here’s what I did about it:
The most crucial part of this operation was finding just the right piece of wood – something that would match the original in color and grain orientation. If ever there were a repair I would like to “disappear”, this would be it. The damaged area is excavated, removing as little of the original as possible, to create a viable gluing surface. The new wood, actually a piece of very old wood, is oriented properly, fitted exactly and glued. It is then carved down in the manner of the original, and varnish applied to match.
Halfway there… and now:
Voilà! How’d I do?
restorersmind 
Looks great, Stacey! I believe that’s the part of the scroll that Rene called the “cul-de-poule” (chicken’s butt).
Hi Sally!
I’ve never really thought of chickens having butts, with all those tail feathers taking center stage. Just because I’m curious, I ran “cul-de-poule” through Bing translator and came up with “chicken ass”. Now I’m not sure who’s having fun here!
I can hear Rene saying something like: “ohhh, in Mirecourt, eet was always called zee cul-de-poule!” Thanks, it’s nice to be reminded of a couple of good summers with him at Oberlin.