San-hsien
Artist
China
Date19th cent.
MediumWood, snakeskin, metal
ClassificationsSound Devices
Object number1998.7.1 LA
DescriptionA three-stringed chordophone with a wooden neck board and tuningpegs. It has a shallow, cylindrical body made of hard wood, both sides of which are covered with snakeskin. It has a long flat neck, on which no frets are made, so the pitch of tones can be freely decided. The three strings of it are played with nails or plectrun. The san-hsien was carried into Japan in the Tang Dynasty, and there it was called the Sha-mi-sen.On View
Not on viewCollections
New Guinea
Japan
Pomo (Central CA)
