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Vintage 1950s Rikhi Ram Sitar Museum Quality and Condition
Estimated price for orientation: 2 995 $
Category: Sitars
Class:
Description Condition: Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab ... Read moreabout the condition Dexterity: Right Handed Country/Region of Manufacture: India
Over the years, I have collected dozens of rare sitars and surbahars made by Hiren Roy & Sons, Hemen Sen, Kartar Chand, Rikhi Ram, Kanai Lal & Brother, and other important makers. This is perhaps the rarest and most valuable sitar in my collection. It is also one of the most well-preserved sitars of the era that I have come across. It was made by Rikhi Ram during the first years of his Delhi workshop, following partition in 1947. It shows the clear influence of his earlier collaboration with Mohan Singh and his nephew Kartar Chand Sharma at the workshop of Sher Mohammad and Sons in Lahore, beginning in 1943. Aspects of this sitar almost certainly were fashioned by the hands of both Rikhi Ram and Kartar Chand. The instrument is intricately decorated with hundreds of ivory and ebony inlays. It is large, even by today's standards, at about 50 inches long, with a scale length of about 36 inches, and a 14 inch tabli. In this sense, it might be considered to be a combination of sitar and surbahar. It has the classic, open, and extraordinarily resonant Rikhi Ram sound of the era, when most performances were given without the aid of microphones or amplification. Its combination of design elements (the classic necklace inlays, the intricate peacock tabli inlays, the carved ivory tabli decoration, and fish-shaped "key" inlaid at the neck joint) is exceedingly rare. This instrument is in perfect structural shape, with a strong and stable neck joint. It is as playable today as it was when it was new. All eleven taraf pegs are original and well-fitted. One main peg (the low Sa chikari, pictured) appears to have been replaced (it is different in shape and has a different nib tip), but the color is so closely matched that it is possible (although unlikely) that the instrument originally was sold with it. There is an oval area of crazing in the finish on the back of the neck between the seventh and eighth frets that may also be original to the instrument. This sitar is strung Kharaj Pancham, which was its original configuration. Recent maintenance has included a very light French polish, a fret polish, and a complete restring using Pyramid wire. A sitar that is very similar this one (but with more elaborate decoration and a carved-scroll headstock) recently was sold by Sitarsencat, having been offered at 3995€, or about $4,000 (and is still pictured on the Sitarsencat site in the vintage sitars section, but is noted as sold). This is a unique opportunity to own a piece of Indian classical music history that was handmade at the pinnacle of mid-century craftsmanship by a rare combination of the 20th century's true giants of sitar making. Shipping to the lower 48 only. All photographs are part of the description of this instrument.
Description
| Condition: | Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab ... Read moreabout the condition | Dexterity: | Right Handed |
| Country/Region of Manufacture: | India |
Over the years, I have collected dozens of rare sitars and surbahars made by Hiren Roy & Sons, Hemen Sen, Kartar Chand, Rikhi Ram, Kanai Lal & Brother, and other important makers. This is perhaps the rarest and most valuable sitar in my collection. It is also one of the most well-preserved sitars of the era that I have come across. It was made by Rikhi Ram during the first years of his Delhi workshop, following partition in 1947. It shows the clear influence of his earlier collaboration with Mohan Singh and his nephew Kartar Chand Sharma at the workshop of Sher Mohammad and Sons in Lahore, beginning in 1943. Aspects of this sitar almost certainly were fashioned by the hands of both Rikhi Ram and Kartar Chand. The instrument is intricately decorated with hundreds of ivory and ebony inlays. It is large, even by today's standards, at about 50 inches long, with a scale length of about 36 inches, and a 14 inch tabli. In this sense, it might be considered to be a combination of sitar and surbahar. It has the classic, open, and extraordinarily resonant Rikhi Ram sound of the era, when most performances were given without the aid of microphones or amplification. Its combination of design elements (the classic necklace inlays, the intricate peacock tabli inlays, the carved ivory tabli decoration, and fish-shaped "key" inlaid at the neck joint) is exceedingly rare. This instrument is in perfect structural shape, with a strong and stable neck joint. It is as playable today as it was when it was new. All eleven taraf pegs are original and well-fitted. One main peg (the low Sa chikari, pictured) appears to have been replaced (it is different in shape and has a different nib tip), but the color is so closely matched that it is possible (although unlikely) that the instrument originally was sold with it. There is an oval area of crazing in the finish on the back of the neck between the seventh and eighth frets that may also be original to the instrument. This sitar is strung Kharaj Pancham, which was its original configuration. Recent maintenance has included a very light French polish, a fret polish, and a complete restring using Pyramid wire. A sitar that is very similar this one (but with more elaborate decoration and a carved-scroll headstock) recently was sold by Sitarsencat, having been offered at 3995€, or about $4,000 (and is still pictured on the Sitarsencat site in the vintage sitars section, but is noted as sold). This is a unique opportunity to own a piece of Indian classical music history that was handmade at the pinnacle of mid-century craftsmanship by a rare combination of the 20th century's true giants of sitar making. Shipping to the lower 48 only. All photographs are part of the description of this instrument.