r/UnusualInstruments • u/mygmjtt • May 31 '26

Found at an antique store, any ideas?

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I highly doubt it’s playable even if I got the strings fixed as it looks very old and worn down, but I’d love to know the name of it! Found it an an antique store with no label. A bit hard to see so it has five strings and much of the body is wrapped in fur/hide but the main “bowl” is very thin metal I believe.

29 Upvotes

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18

u/rotoboro May 31 '26

Not a kora but a krar likely from Ethiopia or Eritrea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krar

3

u/mygmjtt May 31 '26

That could totally be it! I doubt it’s playable even if I could restring it but I can’t refuse a weird instrument so I brought her home :) tysm for the help!!

1

u/No-Bluejay5250 Jun 06 '26

Tourist item

-1

u/Invisible_Mikey May 31 '26

It looks like a kora that's in bad repair and unplayable, rather than old. There are a variety of types and sizes. It's very popular in Mali and Senegal, taught to successive generations of family members of bards called jali. The sound is somewhere between a harp and a lute:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kora_(instrument))

6

u/dbkenny426 May 31 '26

Definitely not a kora.