Images(4)

Langeleik

Alternate name(s)

Fretted zither

Date1800-1850 ca.

Place MadeNorway, Europe

Modelnone

Serial No.none

Signednone
MarkingsBurned into the side: 36 S n S
Descriptionmaterial: wood (sound box, pegs, nut/saddle, frets); wire (strings)
body: wooden, box body expands gradually from pegbox to saddle; top and sides meet flush, no bottom; top and sides extend beyond end block at saddle end; two incised lines at both the top and the bottom edges of both sidewalls; stained dark brown
braces: two wooden braces attached to underside of top, above and below the sound hole
pegbox: integral to sides of sound box, open top and bottom; holes cut into sides for lateral pegs; hand-carved finial attached perpendicularly to sides - projecting considerably above the height of the sound box
tuning pegs: four turned pegs with articulated grips inserted laterally into peg box; two turned pegs with articulated grips inserted laterally into drone side of sound box (ends visible on opposite side of sound box) - strings attached to these pegs pass through the top of sound box; one of the pegs is quite different than the others
nut/saddle: hand-carved nut and saddle with a small arching protrusion on each end, which extends beyond edge of sound box; grooves in both nut and saddle as a result of string tension
bridge: no extant bridges, however, wear markings on top are consistent with the use of bridges
strings: six wire strings attached at pegs; pass through holes in top, just beyond saddle attached on underside
frets: 16 trapezoidal, wooden frets attached to top, varying heights; slightly rounded
sound hole: “s”-shaped sound hole positioned mid-way down the length of the sound box
DimensionsLength: 907 mm
Width: 78-120 mm
Height: 88.5 mm
ProvenanceArne B. Larson Collection, Vermillion, South Dakota, 1979.
Published References“Gallery I Nears Completion - Displays American Musical Instruments,” Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter (April 1975), p. 2.

Credit LineArne B. Larson Collection, 1979

Object number01140

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