Trough zither ·  Tanzania, Kwere · ID: 3036482

Description

wood, partly shiny dark brown patina, trough-shaped corpus, pierced on top and at the bottom for fixing the strings, crowned by a standing female figure, min. dam., strings missing, slight traces of abrasion, base;
the strings across the soundbox are not individual but consist of a single long thin woven twisted fibre thread that is wound around the whole soundbox and spans its length, resting in notches at either end. This instrument and its music was, and still is, intended for a limited audience which in the past would have consisted of the king (“mwami”) and his entourage of dignitaries and women.

The object Trough zither with the object ID 3036482 was last part of the auction 76th tribal art auction at March 22, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 626.

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Comparing literature

Krieger, Kurt, Ostafrikanische Plastik, Berlin 1990, ill. 229 f.