Banjo
ca. 1885
Medium
Wood, strings, metal, various materials
Dimensions
Diam. outer rim: 25.1 cm (9-7/8 in.); Total L.: 98.5 cm (38-7/8 in.); String L.: 63.5 cm (25 in.)
Classification
Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
Culture
American
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Cassilly Gift, 1993
Accession Number
1993.111
Art Historical Context
This elegant banjo, crafted around 1885 by American maker Benjamin Bradbury, represents a fine example of 19th-century instrument building in the United States. Measuring nearly a meter in length with a 25-centimeter rim, the instrument showcases the careful selection of woods, metal components, and strings typical of the period’s chordophones. Its classification as a plucked, fretted lute highlights the banjo’s distinctive construction, designed to produce bright, resonant tones that carried well in both intimate and lively settings. By the 1880s, the banjo had become deeply woven into Ameri...