lute(?)
- Museum number
- As1905,-.24
- Description
-
Musical instrument (like a guitar) made of wood, string (vegetable fibre).
- Production date
- 19thC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 10.50 centimetres
-
Weight: 550 grammes
-
Width: 135.50 centimetres
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Depth: 6.80 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
A drawing of this instrument is shown in John Whitehead's book "Exploration of Mount Kina Balu, North Borneo" (1893). This must be an instrument of the Dusun because firstly, the area around Mount Kinabalu is Dusun area, secondly, the instrument shown in Whitehead's book on the plate between pages 108/109 is clearly titled "Dusun handicraft" and thirdly, the instrument has a resonating body of rectangular shape. On Borneo, you can only find similar box-shaped instruments among several Dusun peoples of Sabah, definitely not among the Kenya or Kayan. (From Hans Brandeis, 04/04/2023)
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Other research suggests that this instrument is a sundatang from Sabah. The piece was illustrated in John Whitehead's Exploration of Mount Kina Balu, North Borneo, that was published in 1893 under the Dusun handicrafts section.
-
Likely to be a Kayanic (Kayan or Kenyah) instrument. A sape'. (Michael Heppell 2014).
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Strings missing at 8/1998.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1905
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- As1905,-.24
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: As1905C3.24 (old CDMS no.)
