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Shell zither

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A broad, elongated bowl with an almost flat bottom; the edges slope outwards (type A), especially on the narrow sides where the bowl outline is rounded but not the opening outline. Seven string guide slots in each case. The string cord is only fragmentary. One end of the string is tied to a crosspiece above a small, round corner perforation inside the bowl. Black-fired narrow rims. On the underside of the bowl, starting from the narrow sides, a pointed, red-coloured base area pointing towards the centre. Forty-eight burnt perforations, mainly arranged in blocks, on the sides of a central, rectangular base opening. A burnt pattern on the long sides of the bowl. from Ulrich Wegner: Afrikanische Saiteninstrumente, Staatliche Museen Berlin - SPK, 1984 (Appendix Object Catalogue)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
musical instruments
Dimensions
Length: 64,5 cm
Width: 16 cm
Height: 3,4 cm
Material/Technique
Wood
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III E 19149

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    East Africa
  • Collecting
    who
    Winfried Ranke - Collectors
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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