Images from The Beede Gallery

NMM 2618. Mi-gyaung, Mon people, southern Burma (Myanmar), 19th century. Crocodile-shaped zither. This simple, but elegant, tube zither has three strings that pass over four raised, brass frets. The tuning pegs are made of ivory, carved to resemble lotus blossoms. Decorated with gold paint and colored glass. Played with a plectrum. Length: 79 cm (31"). Beede Fund, 1979.

Lit.:  Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet, The Shrine to Music Museum Catalog of the Collections, Vol. II, André P. Larson, editor (Vermillion: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1982), p. 3.

Thomas E. Cross, Instruments of Burma, India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet, M.M. Thesis, University of South Dakota, May 1983, p. 54, plate XXII.

André P. Larson, The National Music Museum: A Pictorial Souvenir (Vermillion: National Music Museum, 1988), p. 28.

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A postcard of the crocodile zither is available from the Gift Shop

A catalog of instruments from Burma is available from the Gift Shop

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Most recent update:   September 21, 2010

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