Chianuri

a Georgian bowed instrument. The chianuri has a round, cup-shaped body over the top of which is stretched a membrane of animal bladder; among the Svans a gourd is often used for the body of the instrument. The quadrihedral neck often passes through the body, emerging at the bottom as a kind of supporting leg. The two or three twisted horsehair strings are stretched between pegs at the top of the instrument and a metal ring of the tailpiece, which is secured to the supporting leg. The strings are tuned to a second or third, and the bow resembles an arc. The chianuri, which is held vertically against the knee, is used as an accompanying instrument. Once popular among such peoples as the Khevsurs and Gurians, the chianuri is now rarely encountered.