Mayuri dilruba (ta'us)

Description

This is a peacock-shaped, bowed long-necked lute that was popular in the Indian courts of the 19th century, also known as Ta'us. This example has a one-piece neck and pegbox made of wood, covered with a wooden fretboard with raised edges supporting the 28 arched frets made of brass and attached with gut(?) string. The fretboard also contains small string guide pins made of bone. The peacock's head curves sideways and the body has a vellum soundtable. There are four pegs at the pegbox for the melody strings (and one extra loose peg), and fifteen smaller pegs along the side of the neck for the sympathetic strings. The strings are made of metal wire (brass and steel). The bridge is made of bone and is standing on a leather strip over the soundtable attached to the body with brass tacks. and bridge are missing. There is also a string guide and nut made of bone (probably camel).