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Pitt Rivers Museum

2022.41.1

Xylophone, mbila, [2022.41.1.1] and striker [2022.41.1.2]


2022.41.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Xylophone, mbila, [2022.41.1.1] and striker [2022.41.1.2]
Long description
Xylophone, mbila, [.1] comprising ten wooden keys on a wooden frame, with ten gourd resonators. The keys, which get progressively narrower, are held together by thongs of rawhide and lashed to a bent, three-sided wooden frame. Four thin wooden bars divide the keys into pairs. Along the back, two wooden bars run horizontally. Onto these, ten gourd resonators of decreasing size are fitted, each one comprising two spherical pieces of gourd glued together with resin. The striker [.2] comprises a wooden stick with a spherical head of rubber.
Geographical reference
South Africa (Place of Origin)
Africa > Southern Africa > South Africa (Place of Origin)
Cultural groups
Ndebele
Person
Associated person F.W. Bourdillon
Associated person Sir Thomas Tancred
Date
Acquisition information
Found unentered: 2006
Materials and processes
Material Gourd Plant, Material Wood Plant, Material Animal Rawhide Skin, Material Resin Plant, Material Rubber Plant, Process Carved, Process Strung, Process Tied, Process Glued
Dimensions
Length x Width x Depth 685 x 470 x 145 mm [.1], Length x Width 292 x 32 mm [.2]
Object numbers
Accession number: 2022.41.1

Search terms: Music, Xylophone, Musical Instrument, Striker, Musical Instrument Accessory