Name of Instrument: kithara

Maker / Brand:

Stearns Catalog #: 0984

Country of Origin: Italy

Region of Origin: Europe

Instrument Category: Chordophone

Date of Fabrication:

Location: CHO M 2

Description: This Cithara is an exact reproduction of the instrument appearing in the Apollo Citharoedus, in the Hall of Busts, #277, at the Vatican, Rome. The table is of spruce; the sides are of black-painted wood and extend to become the yoke sides. The crossbar is made of two pieces of wood that pinch the yoke arms together; eleven nails act as vertical string spacers placed along the saddle; eleven staggered wrest pins are mounted above the saddle. It has eleven gut strings that cross a prism-shaped bridge, change angle, and then attach to a pin bridge on the lower table.

Research: Dr. Bruce Mitchell Smith