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Musical Treasures at the Smithsonian

From Louis Armstrong's trumpet to Grandmaster Flash's turntable and from a Central African harp to an Apache violin, these objects represent just a sampling of how music is collected, curated and studied at the Smithsonian. Explore these photographs, objects, and artifacts that help explain how music infuses our everyday life, brightening it with its sounds and beats.

  • Shiva Vinadhara (Holder of the Lute)
  • A Winter Party
  • Clapper bell (ling) with taotie masks
  • Drum of Lingshan type
  • Shiva Nataraja

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  • "Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection"
  • collection
    • Google Cultural Institute 5
    • Freer Gallery 01: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent 2
    • Sackler Gallery 25: RESOUND: Bells of Ancient China 1
  • topic
    • Art 5
    • Sculpture 4
    • WWII-era provenance 3
    • Chinese Art 2
    • Chola dynasty (850 - 1280) 2
    • Lotus 2
    • Shiva 2
    • South Asian and Himalayan Art 2
    • Animals 1
    • Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE) 1
  • culture
    • Chinese 2
    • Himalayan peoples 2
    • South Asians 2
    • Japanese 1
  • place
    • China 2
    • India 2
    • Guangxi province 1
    • Japan 1
    • Tamil 1
    • Tamil Nadu 1
  • date
    • 1000s 1
    • 1610s 1
    • 1620s 1
    • 1630s 1
    • 1640s 1
    • 1650s 1
    • 1660s 1
    • 1670s 1
    • 1680s 1
    • 900s 2

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