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Lamellaphone (mbira)
Probably Shona people
mid-20th century
Object Place: Zimbabwe
Medium/Technique
Wood, iron, bottle caps
Dimensions
Length 23.7 cm, width 21 cm, depth 5 cm (Length 9 5/16 in., width 8 1/4 in., depth 1 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Mary L. Smith Fund
Accession Number1986.604
CollectionsContemporary Art, Musical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Idiophones
DescriptionOne-piece box-shaped body of fig tree wood (?), hollowed-out from one end about half way in. Twenty-four lamellae of iron held in place by straining bar of iron and iron wire. Wood backrest and iron bridge. Lower portion of soundtable surface covered by sheet of metal attached with iron wire, on top of which are nine bottle caps (some marked "Lion Lager"), each attached by iron wire.
Provenance1986, sold by Douglas Deihl, Florence, Massachusetts, to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 26, 1986)
Kumbirai Kuvadzimu ("Call to Ancestors")
Traditional
Performed by Solomon Murungu on an mbira dza vadzimu, made by Dan Pauli, Santa Fe, NM, 2003