Images(3)

Saung gauk

Alternate name(s)

Boat harp
Arched harp
Tsaung gauk

Date1960 ca.

Place MadeMyanmar (Burma), Asia

Serial No.none

Signednone
Markingsnone
DescriptionThis highly decorative arched harp, formerly associated with the Buddhist dynasties that ruled Burma for centuries, is the national instrument of Myanmar. Similar harps can be seen in Burmese iconography dating back to the 2nd century AD.

The long, elegant neck of the Burmese arched harp is carved from the naturally curved root of the sha tree, which typically grows in this shape on a hillside. The NMM's harp has sixteen silk strings attached to the neck within hand-twisted, three-ply, red-cotton tuning cords. At the end of each cord is a tassel symbolizing a flower.

It is gilded with gold, the non-corroding metal that symbolizes life, light, immortality and truth in Buddhist philosophy. The spiraling rings on the collar may symbolize the Buddhist's eight-fold path to enlightenment.

The harp's neck terminates in a highly decorated representation of Bo-tree leaf (Buddha is said to have received enlightenment underneath the bodhi tree). The harp's body and stand are decorated with pieces of mica ("Mandalay pearls"), glass, gilt, and red-and-black paint. Five styles of flowers are represented on both the harp and its stand. Each of the large flowers has twelve inner petals—a number specifically associated with the lotus flower—surrounding a red-glass center. According to one tradition, during the third week of enlightenment, lotuses grew out of the Buddha's footprints while he paced.

The Burmese describe the arched harp's resonator as a bowl or a house. During the construction of a Burmese arched harp, a ceremony may be conducted to invite nat spirits to dwell within the harp, to "enliven its tunes." These spirits are believed to leave the harp through the soundholes while it is being played and return afterward. The loop at the end of the body is said by some to resemble the shape of a traditional court hairpin and, by others, a cobra hood. Some players grip this loop with their knees while tuning and playing the instrument.

The resonator (covered with deer skin) is pierced by the neck or string bar (decorated at both ends with stylized Bo-tree leaves). The string bar is acoustically the most important part of the arched harp since it transmits the vibrations of the strings to the resonating membrane. The top of the arch in the string bar produces a lump in the membrane that is symbolically referred to as the monkey head (the lump symbolizes the monkey's nose).
ProvenancePurchased from Wurlitzer-Bruck, New York, New York, 1978.
Published References"Gallery IV Opens November 16!," The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, vol. VI, No. 1 (October 1978), p. 1.
Thomas 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: 1982), p. 3.
Thomas E. Cross, Musical Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet in the Collections of The Shrine to Music Museum, M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, 1983, p. 56, plate XXII.
Linda Simonson, "A Burmese Arched Harp (Saùng-gauk) and its Pervasive Buddhist Symbolism," Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, Vol. XIII (1987), pp. 39-64.
André P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), pp. 28-29.
Dr. Ido Abravaya, Music at First Sight II- Musical Instruments, 10158 (The Open University of Israel, 2006). (published in Hebrew)
“Wall Street Journal focuses attention on Music Museum,” Arts Alive South Dakota Vol. 10, Issue 2 (Winter 2008), p. 7.

Credit LineGrace L. Beede Fund, 1978

Object number02375

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