German Scheitholt Zither: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This German scheithaolt style dulcimer was made by George Daugherty in Grider, Kentucky in the 1800s. It has a trapezoidal shaped body made if pine, with eight strings (four melody and four drone strings), wood nut and bridge, 15 metal frets, 2 round sound holes, and flat-top metal screws functioning as tuning pins (probably not original to instrument).

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1800s
• maker: Daugherty, George
• maker: Daugherty, George
• Object Name: zither
• Physical Description: wood (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 2 in x 3 1/2 in x 33 7/8 in; 5.08 cm x 8.89 cm x 86.0425 cm
• place made: United States: Kentucky, Grider
• ID Number: MI.324973
• catalog number: 324973
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.