Banjo

2025

Not on view

Jim Hartel is a leading contemporary maker of the banjo who builds instruments that reference historic examples, but with modern features that allow twenty-first century performers to use them in their musical practice. This fretless banjo is based on the types of instruments made in the early nineteenth century and used in Black communities and by white musicians on the minstrel stage. However, Hartel also has modern features, including machine tuning pegs, that allow players to more easily use these instruments. Jim Hartel’s banjos are used by contemporary Black performers who are reviving early banjo music from the Black community such as Rhiannon Giddens and others.

Artwork Details

Overview

Title: Banjo
Maker: James J. Hartel
Date: 2025
Geography: United States
Culture: American
Medium: Maple rim with rosewood veneer, cherry neck with rose fingerboard and peghead overlay, maple inlay on the fingerboard and peghead, calfskin head on the rim (w/ copper flesh hoop)
Dimensions: 94 cm x 34 cm x 11 cm
Classification: Musical instruments
Object Number: 2025.584a, b
Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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