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Kamanche

ca. 1869
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681
Kamanche is a Persian term that was first used in the 10th century to describe an instrument which is sounded with a bow. From there bowed instruments spread to Byzantium and Central Asia and the Far East, and then to Europe. In Egypt it is known as the rabab, a term which is known throughout the Islamic world from north Africa to southeast Asia.
Held upright on its spike, it is bowed with the right hand in a palm-up position. This handgrip, used when bowed instruments were introduced to Europe, is a type still in use globally when playing spike fiddles.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kamanche
  • Date: ca. 1869
  • Geography: Iran (Persia)
  • Culture: Iranian (Persian)
  • Medium: Wood, metal, etc.
  • Dimensions: 36 1/2 × 10 3/16 × 9 in. (92.7 × 25.8 × 22.9 cm)
  • Classification: Chordophone-Lute-bowed-unfretted
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.325
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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Kāmanche (کمچ), wood, paint, fish skin, metal, Iranian (Persian)
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