ticketsMember | Make a donation
English

Sesando

late 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681
Among the most remarkable string instruments in Oceania is the sesando, a tubular bamboo zither with ten or eleven metal strings set in a sounding box made from the frond of a lontar palm. Collected on the Indonesian island of Timor, this sesando was likely made by a member of the local Rotinese community whose residents originated on the neighboring island of Roti. When playing, the musician uses the right hand to pluck the bass strings while the left hand plays the treble. The pitch is adjusted with a complex series of movable bridges and tuning pegs. Used at weddings and funerals, the sesando is believed to possess supernatural powers. Occasionally played as a solo instrument, this zither is predominantly used to accompany songs with verses composed in bini, a special poetic language, and refrains in ordinary Rotinese. The songs are often philosophical, portraying the world as dominated by inescapable fate and life as at times disappointing and ultimately fleeting.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sesando
  • Date: late 19th century
  • Geography: Nusa Tenggara, Timor Island, Indonesia
  • Culture: Javanese (Timorese)
  • Medium: Bamboo, teak wood, palm (Borassus flabellifera), wire
  • Dimensions: H. 22 1/16 × W. 24 × D. 12 3/16 in. (56 × 61 × 31 cm)
  • Classification: Chordophone-Zither-plucked-tube
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.1489
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

Audio

Cover Image for 1765. Sesando

1765. Sesando

0:00
0:00
We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Saron Panerus Slendro, Teak, bronze, paint, Javanese
Saron Panerus Slendro
Javanese
19th century
Sitar, Murari Adhikari Indian, Teak, ebony, metal, bone, various materials, Indian
Sitar
Murari Adhikari
1997
Em, Wood, lizard skin, Asmat
Em
Asmat
20th century
Suling (ring flute), Cane, palm fiber, Indonesian (Sundanese)
Suling (ring flute)
Indonesian (Sundanese)
20th century
Hasapi, Wood, Indonesia (Sumatra, Toba Batak)
Hasapi
Indonesia (Sumatra, Toba Batak)
20th century

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Showing 4 of 18

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.