Iran
Iranian

Mulberry Wood, metal strings, gut strings, bone, lamb
Mid-20th century
Length: 37.5 in; Width: 9.5 in; Depth: 9 in
Chordophones – Lutes

The tar is a long neck plucked lute from the rabab family found in Iran and the Caucasus.  This tar is an Iranian (Persian) tar carved from one piece of mulberry wood, in the shape of a double-bowl (figure-of-eight).  The sound table is a thin membrane of stretched lamb bladder.  It has a long neck glued to the body and is covered with bone.  The twenty-five movable frets are tied-on gut strings, that divide the octave into 15 microtonal intervals.  At the top is a large square-shaped peghead with six friction pegs (three on each side).  The six steel strings in three double courses run over a loose bone bridge with feet on the skin head and are fixed to a string holder at the edge of the body.  Tuning is CC’ gg c’c’.  In an effort to protect the skinhead, which I had replaced, I have added a small strip of leather between the bridge and bladder skinhead, which works nicely.

The tar is played with a special small brass plectrum (often held in a ball of wax) and is used for the classical music of Arabic Maqam and Dastgah (a musical modal system in traditional Persian art music) of Iran.

Reference: https://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/middle_east.htm