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Source Description
The stringed instrument known as the sitar usually provided the central sound for the musical performances that were a constant feature of court life in India. The sitar could then be accompanied by percussion, voice, and other supporting instruments. In Raja Deen Dayal’s photograph <em>Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer </em>(<a href="http://www.clevelandart.org/art/2016.266.21">2016.266.21</a>), a musician strums a sitar in order to please the deities on the royal altar. The improvised compositions are played in a mode, or key, that correlates to the time of day and season of the year.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
98646
label
Sitar
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
98646
contentType
object
title
Sitar
description
The stringed instrument known as the sitar usually provided the central sound for the musical performances that were a constant feature of court life in India. The sitar could then be accompanied by percussion, voice, and other supporting instruments. In Raja Deen Dayal’s photograph <em>Maharaja of Rewa in Prayer </em>(<a href="http://www.clevelandart.org/art/2016.266.21">2016.266.21</a>), a musician strums a sitar in order to please the deities on the royal altar. The improvised compositions are played in a mode, or key, that correlates to the time of day and season of the year.
date
c. 1850
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79485139
genreSpecific
Musical Instrument
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 95.2 x 15.3 cm (37 1/2 x 6 in.)
cul
Eastern India, Bengal or Bangladesh
accession
1918.346
Source extras
tec
Gourd and wood with pigment, ivory, and bone; copper alloy: frets; iron alloy: strings (with one modern copper replacement)
tombstone
Sitar, c. 1850. Eastern India, Bengal or Bangladesh. Gourd and wood with pigment, ivory, and bone; copper alloy: frets; iron alloy: strings (with one modern copper replacement); overall: 95.2 x 15.3 cm (37 1/2 x 6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr., 1918.346
collection
Indian Art
didYouKnow
Many paintings of Indian court life depict female musicians holding and playing this kind of lightweight stringed instrument.
citations
citation
"Accessions." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82-85.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 82
citation
D. S. M. "Exhibition of Musical Instruments." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 8, no. 9 (1921): 134-43.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 134-137
creditline
The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr.
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:19:30.617000
sourceId
98646
dept
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
coll
Indian Art
med
Gourd and wood with pigment, ivory, and bone; copper alloy: frets; iron alloy: strings (with one modern copper replacement)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
bdb713fdc5ce5ca0