Technique

Instrument bowl carving

کاسه‌تراشی ساز

Carving the hollow body of the tar or setar from a single block of wood.

Process, step by step

  1. Rough out the block
  2. Hollow the bowl
  3. Thin walls to tune the sound

Variations

Wall thickness strongly affects tone.

Conservation

Keep in a case away from heat.

Used in these crafts

Instrument making (Saz-sazi)

The workshop making of Iranian instruments such as the tar, setar, kamancheh, santur and oud, combining woodwork, skin membranes and inlaid decoration.