Balalaika

Nineteenth-century balalaika with three gut strings. Front, one-piece, medium-grained; dark edging and wide double purfling; pale gold-coloured varnish. Soundhole with collar of purfling enclosing mother-of-pearl inlays; a bar above and below soundhole. Loose bridge of ebony. Back of six ribs; flat end-board of figured maple; no reinforcements of joints. Ebonised maple neck and peghead with trefoil finial, joined to neck with simple angled lap-joint; rosewood veneer on flush fingerboard; nut of ebony. Posterior pegs with violin-style heads and mother-of-pearl inlays in both ends. Single rosewood hitch-pin at tail.