Gourd wing instrument (tubri) made in India, 19th century

Wind instrument made from a gourd with two rows of bamboo pipes, one with a mouthpiece at the end; used by snake charmers.

Presented by Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Kt., Mus. Doc

Raja Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore was a prominent figure in the Bengali Renaissance of the late nineteenth century. A Bengali musicologist, he founded the Bengal Music School (1871) and Bengal Academy of Music (1881). He studied Indian and Western music, which he tried to compare and amalgamate together. He published extensively on music theory. In the early 1880s, he set Indian translations of 'God Save the Queen' to popular Indian melodies as national anthems for the Indian Empire. He was knighted by Queen Victoria and held honorary doctorates of music from Oxford University and Philadelphia University. He worked extensively to advance knowledge of Indian music, including donating several collections of Indian musical instruments to institutions across Europe and North America. For instance, he donated a collection of instruments to the Royal College of Music in 1884, a collection to The Met in New York and one to King Leopold II of Belgium in 1876 which became the nucleus of the Musée Instrumental du Conservatoire Royale de Musique. He didn't ignore his home country and donated a collection to the Indian Museum in Kolkata.

Presented by Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore, Kt., Mus. Doc. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.

IS.63-1890