NMM 1512.  Short-necked lute ('ud), Iraq or Syria, ca. 1850-1900. The back is constructed of fifteen ribs of alternating dark and light wood, the latter edged with ebony stringing. An intricate, finely carved cypress rose, the pattern resembling a series of arrowheads radiating from the center with two concentric circles and an outer border of arabesques and "fleurs de lys." The 'ud is the great instrument of Arabic classical music. Length: 805 mm; body length: 504 mm; depth: 197 mm; length of neck (with nut): 202 mm; sounding length of strings: 610 mm. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

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