(1400 years old)

The original Altai Yatga (Altai Harp) musical instrument was found in 2008, in Mankhan soum of Khovd province, Mongolia. It lay beneath the head of a person of some rank in a cave high on Jargalant Khairkhan Mountain. The instrument was in remarkable condition having lain undisturbed for an estimated 1400 years. It is the only musical instrument of its kind ever found. Mongolian cave burials are mainly found in the Altai Mountains, although they are quite rare. When burials are found, the grave artifacts are often in extraordinarily fine shape owing to the region’s low humidity. Wood, cashmere, leather, bark, silk, bone, snake skin and metals also show minimal biodegrading as the dry caves are usually located as Mongols say, ‘in the sky’ – well above the level of local flora and reach of wild animals. Soon after discovering the Altai Yatga from information given by a local herder, Mongolian archeologists collected it along with many other artifacts found in the burial site, and sent the Altai Yatga to Germany for restoration. While it was being repaired by expert scholars at Bonn’s Landesmuseum, German researcher Susanna Schulz and Mongolian researcher Ganpurev Dagvan separately worked on restoring the musical instrument.

This particular model is Mr.Ganpurev’s version of the restored Altai Yatga. Mrs.Munkherdene, one of the Mongolia’s most famous Yatga players, offered her contribution in the practical details on how the Altai Yatga might “make musical sounds”. The first modern day Altai Yatga was produced by the Egshiglen Manlai Company with the production master Mr.Baigaljav Purevdavaa.