Tambura - bugarija
Terezija Kovačić
Rijeka, around 1900
wood (maple, spruce, ebony), tin, ivory
craftwork
length = 92,7 cm
body = 41,2 x 31,4 x 24 cm
length of the neck = 35,5 cm
length from the top of neck to the bottom of the instrument = 76,5 cm
length from the top of neck to the soundboard hole = 52 cm
Et 47620
The Collection of Musical Instruments
The tambura (contra) is a plucked string instrument. Its neck and body are crafted from hardwood - maple, and the soundboard is crafted from spruce wood. There is a hole for resonance in the centre of the top plate. The top of the neck is notched and rounded. A metal plate with four peg holes is nailed to the front side. Every metal peg has a flat rounded top made of ivory. The pegs are placed in a row one next to the other. The top board is ornamented using the technique of intarsia of dark wood (ebony) which is surrounded by tendrils. Dark lines, i.e. concentric circles are sketched along the rim and around the hole. The front part of the neck is also covered with dark wood. The metal plate is richly ornamented with flowers and bounded by prongs. A braided ribbon is attached to the tambura so it could be carried.
This tambura was manufactured at the Terezija Kovačić Tambura and Other Instruments Factory. The instrument was long owned by a family from Rijeka. The family sold it to this Museum in 2010. Back in those days, Terezija Kovačić Tambura Factory was highly esteemed, especially at the time when Terezija Kovačić ran it. For example, the Factory won an honorary medal in the 1982 Jubilee Economy and Forest Exhibition. The Exhibition catalogue says: “The Factory exhibited the most beautiful tamburas in its group; in the picture you can see Terezija Kovačić in Zagreb. Terezija Kovačić can nowadays be considered one of the best tamboura makers” (Ibler 1892, acc. to Jeić 2010:118). The tambura bears all the ornaments and symbols which were modern when it came to city tamburas. The city tamburas were modelled on the ones made in villages, but were skillfully and richly ornamented.
