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Musical instruments

Number of Cases
520
The collection of musical instruments was created at the beginning of the 20th century.
The greatest contribution to the establishment of the collection was made by Sima Trojanović (1862–1935), the first manager of the Ethnographic Museum, a member of the Serbian Royal Academy. It is divided into wind and string instruments, percussion instruments and sound devices.

The largest collection consists of wind instruments. These include flutes of various sizes and types, double flutes, shepherd's flutes, šupeljke, kaval, duduk, cevara, and simple signaling instruments such as rikalo, horns, and small trumpets, as well as more complex wind instruments like bagpipes in single-pipe, double-pipe, and triple-pipe variations. The collection also includes string instruments such as small tambourines, ćitelije, and šarkije.

Gusle form a separate unit with several special items. The gusle is made from a soldier's helmet, which was made in 1917 by a disabled soldier in the French hospital sanatorium in Bizerte (Tunisia). Among the oldest objects in the museum are several gusle from the second half of the 19th century.

The collection consists of 520 instruments.

The curator in charge of the collection is Dr. Nataša Mladenović Ribić, curator:
natasa.mladenovic.ribic@etnografskimuzej.rs
Flutes in the making phase
Inv. No. 210
Flute
Inv. No. 1220
Eagle bone flute
Inv. No. 3098
Twin-flute
Inv. No. 3214
Square tambourine
Inv. No. 3276
Gusle made from a soldier's helmet
Inv. No. 5448
Diple
Inv. No. 7287
Bagpipes from the Thessaloniki front
Inv. No. 8608
Flute from Corfu
Inv. No. 25883
Gusle
Inv. No. 49824
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Flutes in the making phase

Inv. No. 210
The displayed item is an unhewn piece of acacia wood with a hole drilled along its length. The example on display was made by Aca Pejakov, a master of the traditional flute and a former bagpipe player. Similar flutes are sold in the markets of Banat and other regions of Vojvodina.

Loznica, Western Serbia
1960s

Flute

Inv. No. 1220
A flute made from ash wood. It is composed of two longitudinal halves hollowed out with a knife and secured with nine rose-colored rings. The front side has six ellipsoid holes. Such flutes were made by shepherds before World War I.

Bigrenici, Ćuprija, Pomoravlje district, central Serbia
Early 20th century

Eagle bone flute

Inv. No. 3098
A hollow tube, without decorations. The maker is unknown. This type of instrument was primarily played by shepherds.

Bitolj, southwestern Macedonia
20th century

Twin-flute

Inv. No. 3214
A flute with two tubes, made from mulberry wood. The right tube has three holes, and the left one has four for tuning the notes. They were made by self-taught peasants.

Kačerska Belanovica, Mount Rudnik, central Serbia
Mid 20th century

Square tambourine

Inv. No. 3276
This tambourine was made a hundred years ago by Vasа Đurković, a master instrument maker and musician. He played it until 1935, when radio sets began to be introduced to the village. The tambourine has an unusual, non-standard shape, as its body is square.

Irig, Srem, Vojvodina
Early 20th century

Gusle made from a soldier's helmet

Inv. No. 5448
They were made by a disabled soldier from a military helmet and elm wood. The body – the resonator box – is made from the helmet and covered with iron sheet. The neck is simple and ends in a realistic horse's head. The bow is made from a hazel stick.

Bizerte, Tunisia (during the stay of the Serbian army refugees during World War I)
20th century, first half

Diple

Inv. No. 7287
It is a wind instrument. The displayed diple are made of maple wood. A goat skin bellows can be attached to the diple, which helps facilitate air intake.

Kistanje, Ervnik, central Dalmatia, Croatia
20th century, first half

Bagpipes from the Thessaloniki front

Inv. No. 8608
The bagpipes from the Thessaloniki front, made from sheep's skin and wooden parts. They were crafted over several years during the battles of World War I at multiple locations. The pipe is engraved with "Started in 1915, finished in 1918 – Cer, Kajmakčalan, Veternik, Soko, Krf (Corfu), Salonika." The head of the diple is carved in the form of a realistic human head with a mustache and a fur hat.

Niš, southern Serbia
1918

Flute from Corfu

Inv. No. 25883
Corfu, an island in Greece where the Serbian army landed during World War I, 1916. The flute is made from olive wood. The displayed example is engraved with the inscription: "Memory from Corfu 1916, Đurđe Novaković," and on the other side, "Olive." Novaković was a cartwright (a master of making horse-drawn carts) from Grošnica near Kragujevac. He crafted the flute while serving as a soldier on Corfu.

Kragujevac, Šumadija, central Serbia
20th century, first half

Gusle

Inv. No. 49824
The gusle and bow are made from white maple, originating from the slopes of Volujak (a mountain on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro). The gusle bears the poetic title "Two Ravens Took Flight." On the neck, near the resonator box, a deep relief figure of Filip Višnjić (the most famous Serbian guslars, 1767–1834) is carved. The gusle was made by Slobodan Benderić, born in 1941 in Klobuk, Trebinje, Herzegovina. He dedicated 60 years to making gusle.

Izgori, Mount Čemerno, southeastern Serbia
Early 21st century
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