Kemenche

Kamanche is a Persian term that was first used in the 10th century to describe an instrument which is sounded with a bow. From there bowed instruments spread to Byzantium and Central Asia and the Far East, and then to Europe. In Egypt it is known as the rabab, a term which is known throughout the Islamic world from north Africa to southeast Asia.

Held upright on its spike, it is bowed with the right hand in a palm-up position. This handgrip, used when bowed instruments were introduced to Europe, is a type still in use globally when playing spike fiddles.

Kamānches, or bowed lutes, are often elegantly inlaid or painted, but this example is decorated with minute pieces of wood, bone, and brass in a mosaic technique called "khatam-kari." First described in the tenth century, the kamanche is the earliest documented bowed instrument and is frequently depicted being played by angels in Persian miniatures. Held upright on its spike, it is bowed with the right hand in a palm-up position, a handgrip used when bowed instruments were introduced to Europe and one still used around the world when playing spike fiddles.