From the front it looks carved, from the side it looks rather flat. The sides seem very deep. Perhaps home made?
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
It's a shame the photos are not bigger and we could see more detail. In motor cycle circles in the UK 50 years ago, it might be described as a "Bitsa". That is one marque's frame or engine (BSA) crossed with a whole load if bits from other makers but it's hard to tell what it is.
That is an interesting top configuration. It appears to be flat in the middle with a partial recurve carved around it. It would make bridge fitting easier and give you some of the string angle improvements that a canted top does. I am not sure there are any other benefits. Kind of a hybrid between a canted top and a carved top.
I suggest hand made, by someone with some cabinet experience, loosely based on a Gibson design for inspiration.
The finish suggests an age of at least 50 years, probably much more.
Durn, 50 years would be early 1970's, which doesn't seem so long ago.
Hard to tell from the photos but I am less optimistic or forgiving than my colleagues here. That sideview photo looks like it has considerable sinkage on the top. Some more photos might help. Were you planning on buying it? I would be wary, even if very cheap.
Jim
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19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Yeah, I speculate that the "flat in the middle, recurve around the edges" that CarlM noticed above, actually is the result of an arched top flattening out in the middle. Non-luthiers building arched-top instruments may not be completely cognizant of the bracing that's needed to withstand the tension of mandolin strings -- lots more than what violin tops need to take -- and over the decades even arch-tops by Gibson and other major manufacturers often flatten.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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