Korea
Korean

Paulownia wood, other woods, silk, mother-of-pearl, bone
Early 20th century
Length: 59 in, Width: 8 in
Chordophones – Zithers

The kayagum is the Korean version of the East Asian horizontal harp zither.  In Korea, it is often called kayago. This traditional one has 12 strings made of twisted silk strings extended over a curved fixed bridge at both ends, and across 12 individual movable bridges. It is tuned to the pentatonic scale.  The modern ones have 23 or 25 strings made of tetron materials and are generally tuned to the diatonic scale making them capable for playing western songs and modern compositions.  This kayagum is made from paulownia wood and is partially hollowed from the bottom.  The lower end has stylized ram’s horns and the body and sides are decorated with inlays of mother-of-pearl in floral and bird (phoenix) designs.  The kayagum can be traced back through recounted legends to the Silla dynasty (57 B.C.E. – 935 C.E.)

Reference: “Kayagum,” Robert C. Provine/R, “The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments,” 2^nd ed., Laurence Libin, Editor in Chief.