Scan 178
Catalogue of the Stearns collection of musical instruments, 1918
19 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
11030. RUDRA-VINA, or RABABA ……………………………………… India
2Body and neck carved from a single piece of hard brown wood. Parchment belly. Six strings. Length, 77 cm. Width, 25.2 cm. Depth, 13 cm.
3Sachs and Mahillon are in direct conflict regarding this instrument, which is listed as above on the authority of the latter. The terms "Vina of the god Rudra" and "howling vina," applied to the instrument, seem to indicate an extra-European dissension.
51031. COMPOSITE SITAR …………………………………………….. India
6Were one inclined to follow the modern fad and create a composite name, the fact that this trinitarian instrument is made up of an esra, a sitar, and a tambura, might suggest es-si-tam. It is a modern contrivance invented by Surpiar Ashraf Ali, from whom it was bought by Mr. Stearns in 1892, presumably under the name given above.
7The body rests on three thin gourd resonators and the necks are united by a plate surmounted by a group of three birds carved in wood. A multi-colored portrait of some East Indian beauty, in style quite prophetic of the modern cigarette picture, affixed to one side, attests the modernity of this instrument.
8Height, 133.9 cm. Circumference at base, 91.2 cm.; at plate, 50 cm.
101032. TANBUR ……………………………………………………….. Persia
11A pear-shaped body with an extremely long neck, both of which are of ebony inlaid with mother-of-pearl in a very artistic manner. Seven fine wire strings. Thirteen frets.
12Length, 130.5 cm.; of body, 42.5 cm.; width, 18 cm.; depth, 17 cm.
141033. SAZ. Tanbur type …………………………………………….. Algeria
15Minature type. Slender neck with two flat heads. Wire strings. The entire instrument is covered with an inlay of tortoise-shell, mother-of-pearl, and ivory.
16Length, 47 cm.; of body, 14 cm.; width, 7 cm.; depth, 5 cm.
18In essentials the Lute (Fr. Luth; Ital. Liuto; Ger. Laute; Span. Laud; Port. Alaude) harks back to Egypt. Migrating to Arabia it was carried to Spain by the Moors, and soon became a favorite European instrument. During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries it was regnant. The French name Luthier, for violin-maker, is derived from the fact that during its vogue he also made lutes. Any doubts as to the pronunciation of the word in England are dispelled by the early spelling—"lewte." In the course of the lute's career it underwent minor structural changes but retained its essential characteristics, among which must be noted its unfortunate tendency to go out of tune with, or without, provocation.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.