Ūd
The ūd is a short-necked lute with a pear-shaped body, characterized by its bowl back, made of thin strips of wood. It is a descendant of the barbat, a similarly shaped instrument with origins in Central Asia. The ūd is found through much of the Middle East and North Africa. Taken to Spain by the Moors, it was the predecessor of the lute. It also traveled east, where it was transformed into the Chinese pipa and Japanese biwa.
Artwork Details
- Title: Ūd
- Maker: Abdo George Nahat (Syrian, 1860–1941)
- Date: 1925
- Culture: Syrian
- Medium: Wood, camel bone
- Dimensions: 30 × 14 × 8 in. (76.2 × 35.6 × 20.3 cm)
- Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-unfretted
- Credit Line: Josephine Lois Berger-Nadler Endowment Fund, 2018
- Object Number: 2018.152
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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