Geomungo

Korean

Not on view

This zither, typically plucked with a short bamboo stick, is traditionally a scholar’s instrument. Geomungo is also called hyeonhakgeum (현학금), which means "black crane zither," and tradition holds that it was invented around the fourth century by a government official whose playing enticed the bird to dance. This nineteenth-century example is smaller than its modern counterpart, and its thinner silk strings produce a more refined and softer sound.

Geomungo, Wood, silk, leather, bone, plastic, Korean

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