Modern Finnish Kantele

This is a modern version of a traditional Finnish Kantele, a multi-stringed instrument similar to a zither or harp. This version, with a maple frame and back and a spruce top, has sharpening levers for added flexibility in tuning, and string extensions that allow for microtonal bending. It was custom built in the late 1980s and is still in use. The third picture is a close-up of the inscription, carved in an old Celtic dialect, which reads "Trustworthy David's harp am I". The other (shorter) pillar is also inscribed in runes, which read (according to the owner, who provided the inscriptions) "Under the protection of Cynthia"