Vienna, Austria
Unknown

Wood, ivory, ebony, metal
ca. 1828
Length: 18 inches; Width: 12 inches
Strings – Zithers

Early Austrian zither in a heart-shaped shallow sound-box called a Bow-Zither (Streich-Zither).  The streich-zithern first appeared in 1823 when performed on by zither virtuoso Johann Petzmayer of Munich.  It had three strings, but later Petzmayer increased it to four strings, which became standard on nearly all forms of bowed zithers. It has a fretted fingerboard, and is played with a bow while placed on a table or in the player’s lap; the right hand bows the strings, while the left hand frets the fingerboard.  This method of playing is probably what justifies it being designated a zither, rather than a violin.  In the next few decades numerus variations of the string zither began to evolve.

This streich-zither has ivory tuning pegs and extensive ivory trim on both the front and back edges and around the sound holes.  The peghead has an ornate carved metal plate facing.  It is tuned like a violin, only backwards, which is the traditional tuning of the common alpine zither fretboard’s melody strings:  e” a’ d’ g.

For further research and discussion check out: “The Weird and Wonderful World of Bowed Zithers” by Gregg Miner.