China

Displaying 1 - 7 of 7
Catalog # Name Description
1 2022-27-34 Yueqin Chinese string instrument in the lute family, also known as a moon lute or moon guitar, traditionally used in Peking Opera music. Every part of the instrument, with the exception of the strings (which are made from nylon or silk), is made of wood. The body is large, circular, and hollow with one small sound hole hidden under the string anchor; the string anchor is half-circle shaped piece of wood which been attached to the front of the body approximately 4 cm above the bottom of the instrument using an unknown adhesive, it has four holes through which the strings are tied. There are 8 frets of varying sizes, 6 on the body and 2 on the neck. The neck is very short, only approximately 6 cm before transitioning to the head of the instrument, which contains the pegs; there are 4 large pegs, 2 on each side of the head/peg box; the very top of the head has a small, ornamental curl. There is a brown sticker with black Chinese lettering placed just below the last fret on the body of the instrument, it has not been translated due to damage and wear. 
2 2022-27-52 Drum Tack head tom tom drum, made in China. Drum has a hollow, cylindrical wooden body which has been painted a reddish-brown; there are 2 metal hoops placed opposite of each other in the side of the body, both have the remnants of an unknown black and gold material tied around them. There are two animal hide drum heads stretched over the body and held in place with several metal tacks; one head has a hand painted image of a bird standing on one foot with its wings out and its mouth open, it is facing what appears to be a flower with three petals, below the bird are black stamp letters reading "MAKE IN CHINA"; on the other head is a hand painted image of a dragon, its long body encircles the edge of the drum with its head in the middle, it appears to be breathing fire; both images are painted in reds, blues, greens, and white.
3 2022-27-66 Sheng Chinese free reed, polyphonic wind instrument. This example has 17 hollow wooden pipes of various lengths that have been painted black; each pipe has a rectangular slot cut into the wood on the side that faces inside, a small circular hole near the bottom on the side that faces out, and a white circular tip made of an unknown material (possibly bone). The pipes are arranged in a symmetrical ascending pattern with the 2 largest pipes facing each other on opposite sides of the base, this arrangement is meant to represent the wings of a bird; they are inserted into a wooden, bowl shaped base which has a carved, white circular piece inserted into the bottom; on one side of the base is a protruding wooden mouthpiece with a white cap that has several small decorative holes in the center, allowing air to be blown through the instrument. 
4 2022-27-72 Yangqin The yangqin (also spelled yang quin or yang ch'in) is a Chinese trapezoidal hammered dulcimer, likely derived from either the European dulcimer or the Iranian Santur. This yangqin is made from wood which has been stained a deep, reddish-brown everywhere but the face, which has been left unstained; on the bottom of the instrument are 2 long, curved "feet"; there is a carved hole in the center of the side of the instrument that would face the player, there is most likely a drawer missing from this area where the bamboo hammers would be stored. The sides of the instrument facing the player and audience are scalloped and have various designed painted in gold, the proper left and right sides are curved and have gold painted leaf designs; on the face of the instrument there are 2 wooden circles with decorative carvings of what appears to be bearded men next to trees, one is placed in between the two sets of bridges and the other is to the proper right of the bridges. There are 48 metal strings which run between metal tuning pegs on the proper right side of the instrument to metal screws on the proper left; on the center of the face there are 16 small bridges broken up into 2 sets of 8 connected by wooden bases; the strings cross the bridges in an alternating pattern with sets of 4 strings going over the bridges on the proper right set of bridges and sets of 2 strings going over the proper left set of bridges. 
5 2022-27-78 Instrument A long-necked string instrument (Sanxian) from China which falls into the lute family. The body/sound box of the instrument is made from a wooden ring which has snake skin stretched over both the front and the back. The neck is long, thin, and fretless and connects to the body through a rectangular hole in the top, another, much smaller hole in the bottom of the body allows for a small peg at the bottom of the neck to protrude; at the top of the neck is the peg box, which holds three large, tapered, wooden pegs, two protrude out from the proper left side while the other protrudes from the proper right. There are three green strings, (most likely nylon) which attach to the pegs and travel down the neck, through holes in the small, white, plastic bridge on the body of the instrument, and are then tied together around the peg protruding from the bottom of the body. At the very top of the instrument, above the peg box, the wood stretches up and curls over itself, creating a space where a string has been inserted, presumably to allow for the instrument to be hung; there are the remains of a sticker on the wood in the area between the top of the peg box and the curl although what was on the sticker is no longer discernable.
6 2022-27-8 Instrument Egg-shaped Chinese wind instrument (Xun), played by blowing air over a hole in the top and covering holes in the sides of the instrument. This example is made of ceramic and has a brown, black, and light blue marbled glaze. There is a hole in the top, 2 holes on the back, and a total of 8 holes on the front, 4 of which are larger single holes and 4 of which are smaller holes arranged into pairs. The bottom is flat and unglazed, something has been carved into the bottom that has not been deciphered. Along with the instrument is a decorative storage box made from a thick cardboard and covered with a silky fabric; the outside fabric is a light, creamy yellow with intricate, light brown flower and dragon designs; the inside fabric is a bright yellow; the inside fabric covers a padding shaped to hold the instrument snugly; the inside lid has writing in English and Chinese, the English reads "Chines Gu Xun  Made in China Chengdu Maste & Dance Theatre." the Chinese has not been translated; there is a red ribbon attached to the bottom and inside lid on the proper right side of the box, this keeps the lid from opening too far; on the front of the box there is a latch consisting of a small hoop on the base of the box and a piece of fabric with a white wedge piece.
7 UNIM1986.14.1985.1.99 Purse Dark blue silk purse with pink piping and yellow draw strings with tassels. Embroidered pink Chinese Shou symbol for longevity on one side and blue Shou symbol for longevity on the other side. Decorative stitching borders the purse with stitched white Chinese symbols. UNIM1986.14.1985.1.99 (Purse) image