Two-stringed instrument (so u) and bow

These instruments are of types used in Thai classical orchestras. Such orchestras also include other stringed instruments together with wind instruments and tuned and unturned percussion instruments such as xylophones and drums. These orchestras play for a variety of occasions, including classical dance-dramas and puppet dramas.

These two instruments, though probably only about fifty years old, were made in the traditional way and decorated with traditional mother-of-pearl inlaid designs similar to those of older pieces such as 2006.27.105.A-.B, 1999.6, and 1999.7.

This type of instrument, the so u, is found in almost all Thai classical music ensembles in which stringed instruments are included. (Some ensembles include only xylophones and other percussion instruments.) The player typically sits on the floor, holding the instrument vertically with its lower end resting on the thigh near the knee. As with many Western bowed instruments, the player's right hand manipulates the bow, while the fingers of the left press the strings to change the pitch.