Shawm
Vernacular Name
- Nāgasuram
- Nagaswaram
- Nagasvaram
Date1935 ca.
Place MadeIndia, Asia
Serial No.none
SignedOn octagonal collar: T.V. / P.R.Markingsnone
DescriptionDouble-reed instrument with a rosewood body and wood bell. In south Indian classical music (Carnatic), the nagaswaram is played along with the ottu. The instrument has seven finger holes, five tuning holes, and a range of two-and-a-half octaves. The player can create semi- and quarter-tones by adjusting lip pressure and the air-flow into the pipe. The nagaswaram and ottu are considered to be mangala vadya, or auspicious instruments.
DimensionsOverall length: 820 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, The Shrine to Music Museum Catalog of the Collections, Vol. II, André P. Larson, editor (Vermillion: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1982), p. 7.
Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet in theCollections of the Shrine to Music Museum, MM Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1983, page 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 number01191
On View
On view
1935 ca.
1900-1925 ca.
1920-1935 ca.
1625-1675 ca.