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Lute; dramnyen

Dramnyen, long-necked lute, with plectrum. The wooden body is painted red with blue, green and gold decoration. The fingerboard is painted with flowers, with a depiction of a seated man at the base, probably representing the guardian of the East, playing a long-necked lute. Skin soundtable painted green, wooden bridge. The upper section of the soundtable is of wood painted grey, with two curved soundholes. Three double courses of silk(?) strings are pegged from the sickle shaped pegbox, and one is pegged from the neck. The pegbox terminates in a carved finial of the head of the sea-monster, chusing. Pink tassels are suspended from the finial. The strings are plucked with a small ivory or bone plectrum (Horniman Museum number: 1972.180a).

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  • Materials:flint, metal, nylon, paint, wood
  • Specific materials/techniques:
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  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:321.321-6 necked bowl lutes
  • Repository:Horniman Museum and Gardens
  • Measurements:1155 x 252 x 250 mm