Gusle: Museum Object and Cultural History
Gusle: date made: 19th century. Object Name: gusle. Physical Description: hardwood (overall material).
The object in the museum catalogue
This gusle was made by an unknown maker in Bosnia, Yugoslavia, probably 19th century. It has a table of hide (missing) stretched and fastened to the body with 19 pins (16 missing), body, neck and stylized horse with rider of one-piece hardwood, one hardwood tuning peg; instrument is not varnished.
This instrument has a spoon-shaped body with an elongated narrow neck terminating in a carving of a mounted horseman, with no further ornamentation. The horseman is possibly a stylized representation of Milos Obilic, a 14th-century Serbian folk-hero known for defending his country against the invading Turks.
Materials, dates and provenance
- date made: 19th century
- Object Name: gusle
- Physical Description: hardwood (overall material)
- Measurements: overall: 5 3/4 in x 29 3/8 in x 8 1/2 in; 14.605 cm x 74.6125 cm x 21.59 cm
- place made: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian
- ID Number: MI.237686
- catalog number: 237686
- accession number: 45209
- 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. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.
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