Unusual banjo depiction

[Ethan Schwartz]

 Somewhat off-topic, but some here may be interested in a highly unusual banjo depiction. 

This is the Bangsal Mandalasa, a structure located within the palace of Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. Built in 1923, it combines elements of Javanese, European, and Chinese design, and was originally used as a bandstand for entertaining guests dining in the neighboring pavilion. It's eight stained-glass panels depict various Western instruments -- violin, bugle, mandolin, tambourine, zither, saxophone, guitar -- and 5-string** banjo! Java was a Dutch colony and during this era would have had little in the way of American or British cultural influence, so the inclusion of banjo (as opposed to any number of other instruments) is somewhat of a mystery. As far as a I can gather, the ensembles performing from this bandstand tended to be brass/military and small concert bands; nothing that indicates banjo in particular. 

**although it's possible this is a tenor/plectrum banjo mistakenly depicted with 5 strings, the fact that the artist represents all the other stringed instruments accurately causes me to doubt this. 

[Jody Stecher]

I think the artist just chose a random number of strings. I say this because I don't agree about accuracy of depiction.  I would think accuracy would be difficult to achieve in stained glass and might be unnecessary to convey banjo-ness or an impression of a mandolin. However the mistakes are many and a bit bizarre and perhaps worth pointing out. The following does not diminish my delight in seeing these panels or my appreciation of your sharing them here. Following the banjo strings from tailpiece to peghead we see that they vanish when they reach the fingerboard, which has no frets. There are three tuning pegs on one side of the peghead rather than two. The peghead is set back an extreme angle, The tailpiece is unusually long. The neck is too short for a 5 string banjo. The mandolin is also inaccurate. The neck is set back at such a steep angle that the strings would not vibrate. It is depicted as a four string fretless instrument (rather than a fretted 8 string one) whose strings pass *under* the bridge (!) and almost immediately connect to a very long tailpiece. The sound hole is depicted very near the bridge as well. The neck is too long as well. The artist has depicted both banjo and mandolin as instruments whose fingerboards are approximately the same length as the soundboard of the body. The artist did  correctly represent the angled soundboard of the mandolin. 

I have seen quite a few photos (and played a few actual) European banjos made in the early 20th century. Most had 4 strings, a few had 6 and were tuned as a guitar. They were made in France and Germany, and if I remember right, in Italy too. So it would not be surprising that some Dutch musicians played these.

[Jody Stecher]

Ooh!  I just notice that first syllables of Bangsal Mandalasana, Ban and Mand, are also the first syllables of BANjo and MANDolin.

[Joel Hooks]

Dear Tiffany & Co., (or whoever the company was)

Please send us stain glass panels based on the included dimensions .

This will be used in a gazebo pavilion for musical performance so please design to that theme.

Yours,

Bangsal Mandalasa Development.

[Jody Stecher]

And European banjo-ukuleles as well.

Jody Stecher said:

I have seen quite a few photos (and played a few actual) European banjos made in the early 20th century. Most had 4 strings, a few had 6 and were tuned as a guitar. They were made in France and Germany, and if I remember right, in Italy too. So it would not be surprising that some Dutch musicians played these.