Divan sāz

Turkish or Azerbaijan

Not on view

The divan, or "audience hall," sāz is the largest type of bağlama, a Turkish relative of the tanbūr. On these lutes, six frontal and six lateral pegs secure six playable strings in double courses. Typically, the first strings furnish the melody while the others provide a drone. In Turkey, poet-musicians pluck the strings either with their fingers or a cherry bark plectrum and strike the soundboard with a finger to achieve percussive effects. This slightly atypical, highly decorative instrument features a body composed of seventeen ribs with ebony and holly marquetry, a pine soundboard, and a neck with inlays.

Divan sāz, Ebony, holly, pine, various woods, mother-of-pearl, bone, sheep gut, wire, Turkish or Azerbaijan

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