Siamese Bass Xylophone
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1876
name: label: Donor Name
content: Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "THE BODY IS A SHALLOW OPEN BOX WITH FLARING ENDS AND SIDES WITH THE ENDS PROJECTING ABOVE THE SIDES. IN EACH AND PIECE ARE TWO BRASS HOOKS TO WHICH ARE HUNG A BELT FORMED OF SEVENTEEN TRANSVERSE BAMBOO SOUNDING BARS, EACH TWO INCHES WIDE AND 5/8 IN. THICK VARYING IN LENGTH FROM 16-1/2 TO 14 IN. THE OUTSIDE OF THE BARS ARE PLACED UPPERMOST. THE BARS ARE ROUGHLY TUNED BY HOLLOWING OUT THEIR MIDDLES FROM THE BACK. THE LONGEST BAR, GIVING THE LOWEST NOTE, IS ABOUT 1/8 IN. THICK AT ITS MIDDLE. THE SHORTEST BAR, THE ONE WITH THE HIGHEST NOTE, IS ABOUT 1/2 IN. THICK AT ITS MIDDLE. FOUR SMALL HOLES ARE MADE IN EACH BAR, TWO AT EACH NOSE THROUGH WHICH ARE PASSED STRONG CORDS, THUS FORMING THEM INTO A BELT. THE SIDE OF THE BODY HAVE THEIR UPPER EDGES IN A CURVE TO CONFORM TO THE CURVE OF THE BELT HUNG ABOVE THEM, THE SOUNDING BARS DO NOT REST ON THE SIDES OR TOUCH THEM. THE BODY RESTS ON A MOLDED BLACK PEDESTAL, 7-3/4 IN. SQUARE AND 4-1/4 IN. HIGH. THE RANAT THOOM IS TUNED BY ATTACHING LUMPS OF WAX TO THE UNDER SIDE AND AT THE ENDS OF THE BARS. THE BARS ARE TUNED: D. E.-F.-G.-B.-C.-D.-E.-F.-G.-A.B.1C.2D.2E AND 2F ACCORDING TO MAHILLON, P. 386, VOL. 1. AN OCTAVE BELOW THE RANAT EK."
label: Notes
content: Described in Taylor, Paul & William Bradford Smith, 2017. Instruments of Diplomacy: 19th Century Musical Instruments in the Smithsonian Collection of Thai Royal Gifts. In The Journal of the Siam Society. 105: 245-272. Described on page 263, with photo on page 264 (fig 17)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 2
place: label: Place
content: Bangkok, Thailand, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Siamese
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 005318
label: USNM Number
content: E27320-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Xylophone