Tonkari (トンコリ)
Unknown Artist
late 19th century
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
L. 30 × W. 3 in. (76.2 × 7.6 cm)
Classification
Chordophone-Lute-plucked-unfretted
Culture
Japanese (Ainu)
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
89.4.133
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments the *Tonkari* (トンコリ) is a captivating example of late 19th Ainu craftsmanship from Japan. Carved from a single piece of wood measuring 30 inches long and 3 inches wide, slender lute embodies the ingenuity of the Ainu, Japan's indigenous people of Hokkaido and surrounding regions. Its minimalist form—smoothly sculpted with a resonant body and extended neck—highlights the practical artistry of a culture deeply connected to nature and oral traditions. As a chordophone classified as a plucked, unfretted lut...