Komuz Museum, Musical instrument museum in Yakutsk, Russia
The Komuz Museum is a specialty museum in Yakutsk, Russia, dedicated to the jaw harp and related mouth instruments. It holds pieces in many sizes, materials, and shapes, all displayed in a single compact exhibition space that visitors can explore on foot.
The museum was founded in 1990, when a private collector donated a personal collection to the city of Yakutsk. That gift became the starting point for an institution that has grown steadily since then.
The museum takes its name from the komuz, a traditional string instrument from Central Asia, though the collection focuses on jaw harps from around the world. Visitors can see how the same basic idea of a vibrating metal or bamboo strip led to very different shapes depending on where it was made.
The museum is in the central part of Yakutsk and easy to reach on foot from most of the city center. The space is small, so a visit does not take long, but it rewards those who take time to look closely at each piece.
One jaw harp in the collection reportedly traveled to space and spent several months orbiting the Earth. The collection also features versions of the instrument that are tiny enough to sit on a fingertip and others large enough to surprise anyone who expects them all to be pocket-sized.
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