Bowed Zither
1867 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Alpine zither was developed by Johan Petzmayer (1803 - 1884) in Munich during the 1820s. The bowed version was originally played on a table like its plucked counterpart, and the musician would have used a shortened version of a violin bow. A variation of this instrument, known as the philomele, evolved by about 1890 and was played against the shoulder like a violin. This example was made by Max Amberger (1838 - 1889) of Munich, who made stringed instruments, expecially guitars and their variants. This instrument was shown at the Paris exhibition of 1867 and bought by this museum shortly afterwards.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Planed and joined rosewood, brass frets, ivory pegs |
| Brief description | Bowed zither, made by Max Amberger, Munich, 1867 |
| Physical description | "Heartshaped Petzmayer model. Asymmetrical heart-shaped body of rosewood, with two tear drop shaped soundholes. The three wire strings are tuned at a projecting head at the wide-end of the body, by enclosed worm-gear machines and ivory tuning pegs. The strings are sounded at the narrow end, with a bow which is now missing". Baines, Anthony. Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments . London, 1998, p. 71. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This instrument was bought for £3 - 12 - 0 from Max Amberger of the "Bavarian Department" in 1867, following the Paris Exhibition of 1867. (It was not assigned a museum number until 1869). |
| Summary | The Alpine zither was developed by Johan Petzmayer (1803 - 1884) in Munich during the 1820s. The bowed version was originally played on a table like its plucked counterpart, and the musician would have used a shortened version of a violin bow. A variation of this instrument, known as the philomele, evolved by about 1890 and was played against the shoulder like a violin. This example was made by Max Amberger (1838 - 1889) of Munich, who made stringed instruments, expecially guitars and their variants. This instrument was shown at the Paris exhibition of 1867 and bought by this museum shortly afterwards. |
| Bibliographic reference | Baines, Anthony. Catalogue of Musical Instruments in the Victoria and Albert Museum - Part II: Non-keyboard instruments . London, 1998, p. 71. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 641-1869 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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