The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Sitar

Sitar

c. 1850
Gourd and wood with pigment, ivory, and bone; copper alloy: frets; iron alloy: strings (with one modern copper replacement)
Overall: 95.2 x 15.3 cm (37 1/2 x 6 in.)
The Charles G. King, Jr. Collection. Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King, Jr. 1918.346
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Many paintings of Indian court life depict female musicians holding and playing this kind of lightweight stringed instrument.

Description

The stringed instrument known as the sitar usually provided the central sound for the musical performances that were a constant feature of court life in India. The sitar could then be accompanied by percussion, voice, and other supporting instruments. In Raja Deen Dayal’s photograph Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer (2016.266.21), a musician strums a sitar in order to please the deities on the royal altar. The improvised compositions are played in a mode, or key, that correlates to the time of day and season of the year.
  • ?–1918
    Ralph King [1855–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1918–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82-85. Mentioned: p. 82 www.jstor.org
    D. S. M. "Exhibition of Musical Instruments." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 8, no. 9 (1921): 134-43. Mentioned: pp. 134-137 www.jstor.org
  • Raja Deen Dayal: The King of Indian Photographers. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23, 2023-February 4, 2024).
    Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    Exhibition of the Month: Music in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2, 1945-February 4, 1946).
  • {{cite web|title=Sitar|url=false|author=|year=c. 1850|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1918.346