Sorna

Unknown

late 19th century · wood, bone, metal · Musical Instruments

Sorna is one of many variant terms used for a double-reed instrument known as Zūrnā throughout the Arab world, Asia and southeastern Europe. Names like zukr (Tunisian), zournas (Greece), Surnai (Iran, Central Asia), Sahnāī (India) and China (sona) all are linguistically connected. Most are equipped with a disc (pirouette) located just under the reed. The player's lips press against the disc and enclosing the reed is in the mouth to facilitate breath control. The instrument is provided with a small spike to make adjustments to the reed and finger holes. This example is decorated with khātam-kari, a labor intensive and exacting mosaic technique using fine inlay of bone, wood, bronze or brass.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th century

Medium

wood, bone, metal

Culture

Iranian (Persian)

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889