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Metallophone (saron barung)
before 1867
Object Place: Central Java, Indonesia
Medium/Technique
Teak, bronze
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Mr. and Mrs. Bradford M. Endicott and Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Fraser in honor of Jan and Suzanne Fontein, and the Frank B. Bemis Fund
Accession Number1990.565
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsMusical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Idiophones
DescriptionCarved black painted wood trough resonator case with seven pairs of metal pins set in the upper face. The case is a sandwich of three pieces; the top and bottom terminate at each end with volutes; the middle is a slab with a prominent central bead cut into all four edges. Seven bronze keys, each with a smooth rounded the upper surface, are located by the pins and lie over the trough, resting on rope cushions. (pelog tuning)
Provenance1840, slendro-tuned ensemble commissioned by Chinese patron, Central Java. After 1840, Priyo family, the Bupati (regent) of Blora, Central Java; about 1876, pelog-tuned ensemble commissioned and combined with 1840s ensemble, Central Java; by 1990, by descent through three generations of the Priyo family to Mr. and Mrs. Supriyo, Blora, Central Java, Indonesia; July 12, 1990, sold by Supriyo to Nyonya Nora, Surakarta, Indonesia; 1990, sold by Nyonya Nora to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 24, 1990)