tar

Stringed musical instrument called a tar (lit. "string") or long-necked Iranian lute. The body is a double-bowl carved from a single piece of mulberry wood. A thin membrane of skin (animal bladder?) covers the sound box. The long neck and pegbox, made of wood with bone or ivory, are glued to the body. There are six pegs with rounded knobs, three on each side of the open pegbox. The frets are made of nylon or gut. The instrument is played with a small brass plectrum (missing). Four of the original six steel strings are present.