(Phan) Free-Reed, Mouth-Organ
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1876
name: label: Donor Name
content: Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "This is catalogued as collected by W. C. Mcclintock in British Guiana, but this kind of a free reed instrument is only found in the Far East. Possibly it is the poeng mahng (27319) the only musical instrument from Siam unaccounted for. A group of hollow canes or reeds in two rows of seven each and held in a hollow cylinder of turned wood by a square mortise through the cylinder. One end of this cylinder is perforated and that end and the sides inside hollowed out, forming an air chamber of passage. Each can has a shallow going [?] cut in one side, forming a rectangular opening into its base. Over this opening is cemented with wax, a thin brass plate fitted with a free reed, which is placed so to be enclosed in the air chamber formed in the cylinder or mouth piece. The space between the canes, also those between the canes and the edges of the mortise in the cylinder that is outside of the air passage, are filled with wax to make the passage air tight. Each can has a fine hole a short distance above the transverse cylinder or mouth piece. Like the Chinese "cheng". The reeds only speak when its finger hole is closed. The reeds are turned by varying the size of a drop of melted wax placed on the tip of the tongue of the reed. The left band row of tubes are tuned Ab.-G.-Eb. and 2 Db and the right bsnd tubes F. - Ab. Eb. F.G. Bb and 1 C. When played, the mouth tube is held in both hands. The finger closing the finger hole of the reed that is sounded, the canes being upright, the breath is both blown and sucked through, generally the latter."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 30 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: 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: E6002-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mouth Organ