Shawm
Vernacular Name
- Ottu
Date1935 ca.
Place MadeIndia, Asia
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionCarnatic drone instrument played along with the nagaswaram. A double-reed instrument with a rosewood body and a wood bell. The reed of both the ottu and nagaswaram is made from a flattened piece of aquatic grass found on the banks of the south Indian Kaveri River. The ottu and the nagaswaram are played at temples, for marriages, and at festivals.
DimensionsOverall length: 825 mm
ProvenancePreviously owned by Reverend Emmons E. White, Manamadurai, India. By 1947, likely sold to Arne B. Larson, Brookings, South Dakota.
Published ReferencesThomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet, SMM Catalog, Vol. II (1982), p. 7.
Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet in the Collections of the Shrine to Music Museum, MM Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1983, p. 15, plate IV.
André P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), p. 29.
Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979
Object number01192
On View
On view
1935 ca.
1900 ca.
1940-1960 ca.
1850-1900 ca.