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Taūs (mayuri)

19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684
Popular at nineteenth century Indian courts, this bowed lute borrows features of other Indian stringed instruments, such as the body shape of the sarangi and the frets and neck of the sitar. There are four melody strings and fifteen sympathetic strings that sound when the instrument is played to accompany popular religious song. The peacock is the vehicle of Sarasvatî, the goddess of music, and it appears in Indian poetry as a metaphor for courtship.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Taūs (mayuri)
  • Date: 19th century
  • Geography: India
  • Culture: Indian
  • Medium: Wood, parchment, metal, feathers
  • Dimensions: W. 45 1/2 × D. 5 7/8 in. (115.5 × 15 cm)
  • Classification: Chordophone-Lute-bowed-fretted
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.163
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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