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Lute (sarasvati vina)
19th century
Object Place: Probably Karnataka, India
Medium/Technique
Jackfruit wood, gourd, silver, ivory
Dimensions
Length 110 cm, width 29 cm, depth 30 cm (Length 43 5/16 in., 11 7/16 in., depth 11 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Edwin E. Jack Fund
Accession Number1995.86
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsMusical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Chordophones
DescriptionHemispherical jackfruit wood body with integral neck and flat belly. Inlaid ivory in foliate design flanked by two carved mother-of-pearl flowers, at upper end of belly. Ivory strips with incised floral decoration along upper edges of body and neck, and outer edges of belly. Silver plaque with chased foliate decoration and two lions rampant, screwed to end of body. Large gourd with silver ferrule at top with chased foliate decoration, attached to neck with threaded iron bolt and nut. Pegbox terminates in carved dragon head with ivory eyes and teeth. Four bilateral turned wood tuning pegs, with ivory heads, in pegbox. Three later lateral turned wood tuning pegs, with white painted heads, in bass side of neck. Twenty-four cylindrical brass frets set in mixture of wax and lamp-black along raised ledges atop neck. Areas inside pegbox and below frets painted red. Brass nut and string holder. Carved and incised ivory bench-shaped bridge with brass cap on top and arc for side strings.
ProvenanceBefore 1995, apparently found in a music school, Calcutta, India, and sold to a dealer in the Soho District, New York; by 1995, sold by New York dealer to Joseph Peknik, III, New York; 1995, sold by Peknik to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 24, 1995)
Raga Alapana and Tanam in Raga Kalyani
Performed by Durga Krishnan on a modern sarasvati vina