The primašica tambura
Ivan Veizer, tambura maker
Zagreb, the 2nd half of the 19th century
wood (plum, linden, maple, fir)
craftwork
length = 53 cm
length of the neck = 39,2 cm
depth of the body = 5 cm
length of the bridge = 4 cm
top plate = 9 x 14,8
POH-443/1920
The Collection of Musical instruments by Franjo Ksaver Kuhač
The primašica tambura is made of several pieces of different wood: the soundbox and neck are made of maple and plum, the upper part of the neck is made of linden, and the top cover is made of fir. The tamburica has four pegs (čivije) for four strings.
The primašica tambura was made by Ivan Veizer, “our famous tambura maker from Zagreb” (Kuhač, 1877: 12). The way it is played is described in the “Appendix…”: “When it is played, it is held in the same way as the bisernica. The first, largest string is never or rarely plucked, i.e. only then when the player wants to play accords; he then plucks it with his little finger.” (ibid.)
