Dung Chen

Unknown

19th century · Metal · Musical Instruments

Collapsible long trumpets of brass or silver are found throughout Tibetan culture areas. Made of three or four telescoping sections, these trumpets play only two or three notes. Tonal variety is achieved in subtle ways--by wavering the pitch, fluctuating volume and intensity and by different ways of attacking and releasing the note. Pairs of dung chen are played in ensemble preludes and interludes, alone or in alternation with rgya-glings (shawms) for morning and evening calls from monastery roofs.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Metal

Culture

Tibetan

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889