Transverse Flute (Ti-Tzu)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1882
name: label: Donor Name
content: Chinese Centennial Commission
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "A flute; bamboo, bound at intervals with silk, and tipped with bone. Ten holes on the upper part, and two opposite, placed near together towards the lower end. The second mouth-piece covered with a film. The general name for the flute is in Chinese siao or seaou. The ty is blown like the flute traversiere or German flute. It is generally provided with ten finger holes and two mouth holes. One of the mouth holes is situated nearer to the center of the tube than the other, and is covered with a film when not used. By means of this second mouth-hole a higher pitch is attainable. Two of the finger holes are also covered with a film so that only the pentatonic intervals are producible. When all the finger holes are open the order of intervals is diatonic. There is a large ty and a small one in popular use. The order of intervals generally adopted on the large ty is the following, which may be transposed to a higher pitch by using the second mouth-hole: the notes - are, however, also obtainable by means of two finger-holes which are placed opposite to each other at the further end. (Engle, descriptive catalogue, p.183.) Loaned to the 1876 Centennial Exhibit, A&I,10-2-1975. Cont.see card. From Music Card: “Made of bamboo, its outer surface removed and bounded with 22 bands of dark waxed cord, tipped with bone ferrules. Mouth hole 9 ½ in. from upper end. The cord just above. It has 6 finger holes at equal distances and a hole covered with tissue paper between mouth hole and upper finger hole. There are four holes below the finger hole to govern the pitch of the lowest note; also to attach cord and tassels.”
label: Record Last Modified
content: 22 Apr 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: China, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Chinese
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 005892
label: USNM Number
content: E54063-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Flute