India and Bangladesh
Indian 

Wood, metal, bone
19th century
Length: 31.5 in; Width: 6 in; Depth: 4.25 in
Chordophones – Lutes

The esraj is a long-necked bowed fiddle of Bengal (India and Bangladesh). There are two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent.  In the north, primarily Punjab, a state bordering Pakistan, it is used in Sikh music and Hindustani classical compositions, while in West Bengal, it is used as an accompanying instrument for voice, or as a solo instrument in popular and classical urban music.

The esraj is a variant of the dilruba and is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old.  This esraj is quite unusual, as it has a pear-shaped resonator that is carved into a woman’s head.  On the opposite side, at the front of the instrument the resonator is covered by goatskin.  A narrow-arched bridge of bone is supported by a thin strap of leather that is nailed over the table at its widest point on the resonator cover. The neck consists of fourteen (14) thick carved brass frets tied with silk rope.  Affixed to the long neck on the right side is a narrow plank where the fifteen (15) metal sympathetic strings, that pass under the brass frets, are each attached to an individual wooden peg.  At the top is another head finial and four main pegs as on the sitar.  These top metal geared pegs are inserted directly into the top of the neck, which indicates this is of the older style.