Tambura - bisernica
Tvornica tambura Andrije Cara
Zagreb, around 1900
wood (maple, spruce), metal, ivory
turning, intarsia
length = 56 cm
body = 18,4x 14 x 11 cm
length od the neck = 23,5 cm
length from the top of neck to the bottom of the instrument = 41,9 cm
length from the top of neck to the middle of the hole = 31,5 cm
Et 47622
The Collection of Musical Instruments
The tambura is crafted from hardwood. The head, neck, and body are all crafted from one block of wood, they are beautifully treated and turned. The top of the neck - the head, 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 top board is ornamented with dark wood veneer which is surrounded by tendrils. Dark parallel lines and concentric circles are sketchend around the rim and the hole. The same dark wood covers the front side of the neck. The metal plate is richly ornamented in flowers and bounded by semicircular ornaments. The top board is crafted from spruce wood, and other parts of the tambura from maple. There is a hole for the resonance in the middle of the top plate.
Andrija Car’s tambura workshop was founded in Zagreb in 1894. It operated on an ongoing basis until 1930. It operated at the peak of the tambura music.
“In 1901 Andrija Car ushered in the most expensive prim tambura (bisernica) crafted from ebony and ornamented with mother of pearl (Perlmutter)” (Jeić 2013:61). This example of prim testifies to this. After Andrija Car passed away, his wife, Marija Car, took over.
