Discover Why Music Is the Language of the Soul
Instruments in the John and Joan D’Addario Orientation Galleries and the stories they tell set the stage for the incredible variety of items and diversity of cultures guests will experience in MIM’s Geographic Galleries.
Featured Exhibits and Objects
Object Highlights
No instruments found.
Acquisition of the Month
Stop by to see this month’s exciting new instrument!
A rare ornately painted tambūrā
India, c. 1870s
In Indian classical music, the tambūrā provides sustained drone tones that underpin melodies and rhythms. This tambūrā is one of the few examples to feature highly ornate miniature painting. Its soundboard depicts Hindu deities alongside peacocks and cows, while the neck bears scenes of musicians and acrobats on the front and floral scrollwork on the reverse. It was likely intended for display or for use at court.
Two ornately decorated conch shell trumpets
Nepal, 16th to 17th c.; India, 19th c.
Each of these śankh shell trumpets is richly decorated with symbolic imagery that emphasizes its divine potency. The Nepalese trumpet is profusely engraved with depictions of the Hindu deities Vishnu and Garuda and inscriptions in Newari and Nāgarī scripts. The Indian example, fitted with elaborate brass work, features a makara (a mythical sea animal) spewing a watery form, with a yali (an elephant-lion creature) striding across its head.
Video Highlights
The Oldest Known Surviving Full-Size Guitar
Installing the Robjohn Pipe Organ at MIM
