Lacquered Se - Part1

“Se” was a popular musical instrument in the Zhou Dynasty. There are different kinds of Se: Se that decorated with gems are called “Bao Se” and ones with painted patterns are called “Jin Se”.

This Se that unearthed from the Zeng Hou Yi mausoleum used to have 25 strings. It is made out of a whole piece of wood and is decorated with carved patterns. The bottom and the interior is hollowed out. The surface is slightly curving; at both ends there are 25 string holes and at one end there are four “Rui” to tie the string to.

The Se was first painted with black lacquer and them covered with red lacquer, upon which patterns were painted with lacquer in black, yellow and silver. Its replica is able to make beautiful, deep low pitch sound and is suitable to portrait the scenery of lofty mountains and mighty rivers.