Classical Instrument Art Print – Sarangi, The Bowed Voice in Parts

Provenance

'Sarangi' is shown standing upright on the page, its tall body held together while the pegs, a bridge and the lower box are drawn apart around it. As in the rest of this series, the print takes the form of an artist's sketchbook page, a set of observations of an Indian classical instrument and the parts that make it. The bow stands beside it, a reminder that this is an instrument played by drawing a bow across its strings.

The narrow wooden body rises to a head crowded with dark turned pegs, with two large knobs at its sides and a small inlaid ornament near the top. Its lower half is covered by a pale skin-toned panel, over which long strings run down to a small bridge and tailpiece. Along the left, a row of slim pegs lifts away from the body on dashed lines, and a large turned knob is studied on its own above. A pale carved bridge is enlarged at left, a cut-away section of the lower chamber sits at the bottom right, and an open wooden box with internal posts rests beneath the instrument.

Walnut brown, red-gold timber and a pale parchment tone for the skin-covered section stand out against the cream ground, with crosshatching in russet, grey and blue around each form. The long strings are drawn as fine, steady lines, contrasting with the loose hatching of the shadows. That sketched surface belongs to the artwork as drawn; the piece you receive is a print on canvas cloth, made to order.