Tro

Alternate name(s)

Spike fiddle

Date1875 ca.

Place MadeMyanmar (Burma), Asia

Serial No.none

SignednoneMarkingsnoneDescriptionThis hybrid spike fiddle combines a fascinating mix of cultural elements. The hardwood body, painted black, is shaped like a European orchestral violin; whereas the head terminates in an intricately carved Burmese dancer, decorated with pieces of mirrored glass, mother-of-pearl, gilt, and paint. It is played vertically by a seated musician--the spike resting on the ground--using underhand bowing. The adoption and subsequent adaptation of musical instruments from other cultures has been a common theme throughout history. Certainly, trade, empire building and regime changes within nation states, sometimes influenced by ethnic, religious or idealological differences, have created rich albeit turbulent environments in which music, art and language, among other cultural indicators, have been irreparably altered.
DimensionsHeight: 925 mm (36-1/2 in)
ProvenancePreviously owned by Eugene de Briqueville, Paris, France. Before 1980, presumably sold by de Briqueville to Wurlitzer-Bruck, New York. Purchased from Wurlitzer-Bruck, 1980.
Published ReferencesThomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet, SMM Catalog Vol. II (1982), p. 2.

Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand, and Tibet, MM Thesis, USD, May 1983, p. 54, plate XXI.

André P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), pp. 28-29.

"Rare Burmese Instrument Acquired," Shrine to Music Museum, Inc. Newsletter 8, No. 1 (October 1980), p. 4.

Credit LinePurchase funds gift of LeRoy G. Hoffman, 1980

Object number02676

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