Vu Hu Din Dung
Vuhudendung with pointed flange.
Musical Bow. The delicate sound of these musical bows is rarely heard today. They are the only pre-European chordophones found in Polynesia and Melanesia. The blunt end of the instruments is held between the lips, and the timbre is determined by shaping the mouth cavity while the strings are rapidly plucked. By this means speech could be imitated, and lovers conversed privately with these instruments in public situations.
Musical Bow. The delicate sound of these musical bows is rarely heard today. They are the only pre-European chordophones found in Polynesia and Melanesia. The blunt end of the instruments is held between the lips, and the timbre is determined by shaping the mouth cavity while the strings are rapidly plucked. By this means speech could be imitated, and lovers conversed privately with these instruments in public situations.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vu Hu Din Dung
- Date: late 19th century
- Geography: Pentecost Island, Vanuatu
- Culture: Melanesian (Penetecost Island, Vanuatuan)
- Medium: Bamboo, fiber string
- Dimensions: L. 20 1/2 × W. 7/8 in. (52.1 × 2.2 cm)
- Classification: Chordophone-Musical Bow
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 89.4.778
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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Melanesian (Nggela Islands, Solomon Islands)
late 19th century
Melanesian (Fijian)
ca. 1830
Vanuatuan
mid-20th century
Melanesian (Pentecost Island or Aurora Island, Vanuatuan)
late 19th century
Melanesian (Aoba Island, Vanuatuan)
late 19th century
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