Copying the 1736 Muir-Mackenzie Strad

The Muir-Mackenzie turned out to be quite a difficult instrument to copy--for many reasons. Wood is the first consideration when one is copying a violin and the Muir-Mackenzie is quite unique in this aspect--at least as far as Strads are concerned.
The back is made of one piece maple--cut on the slab. For those unfamiliar with this term, it means that the wood was cut out of the log like planks rather than the usual pie-shape wedges most violins are made from. This gives the back a distinctive grain pattern as well as making it succumb to warping--much in the way old floor boards warp. This warping is prominent in the back of the Muir-Mackenzie, and while it does give the violin an immediate feeling of age, warping like this presented me with a difficult decision:
How far should I go?
Should I copy warping in a violin or not?
This may seem like a relatively mild worry, but questions like these are some of the most trying to the copyist. Copyists in other fields--such as painting--are stuck in much the same situation as the violin copyist; while they may feel free to copy the color, shape, and shading of a great work, do they hesitate to copy the build-up of dirt, damage to the canvas, or fading that the painting has undergone over the years? Many painters seem to believe to copy these is an attempt at forgery--a line few wish to cross.
But with violins, the line between forgeries and copies is blurred. Every Stradivarius has a distinctive, unique look because of the rough life violins have. The varnish is worn into attractive patterns, allowing the golden hues of the ground to shine through. The ground itself gets dirty and aged, staining to a beautiful nut brown. Dirt gets captured in the pores of the wood, giving the wood a look very much like mahogany. All these attractive qualities are due to age, damage, and wear, and were a maker to leave any of these out when copying a Strad, the resulting instrument would look quite unlike the original. The difference would be like trying to paint a portrait of your Grandmother and cleaning up the wrinkles and gray hair until the painting resembles a plastic Barbie Doll instead.
I never liked Barbie Dolls.
I copied the warping.