421.111.12 Open single end-blown flute with fingerholes

Ney, end-blown flute made of a reed with six nodes and seven antinodes.

The ney is an end-blown flute used in the classical music of Iran and in the spiritual music of the Sufi order. Its name means 'reed' in Persian. The sound of the reed being torn from the reed bed to make the flute has been compared in Sufi mystical poems to the cry of the soul as it is separated from God. The ney is played by placing the top of the instrument between the two front teeth and directing the airstream with the tongue. This example was given to the Horniman Museum by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1956. They had received it from Major Murdoch Smith in 1875.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
M24.8.56/159
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 540 x 20 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
hide; reed
CATEGORY
Musical Instruments
LOCATION
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Collection Information

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