Emmanuel Venious

Manol
An oud built by Emmanuel Venious (Manol) in 1915/16.
Born
Emmanuel Venious

1845
Died1915 or 1916
OccupationsLuthier, Carpenter
Years active1870-1916

Emmanuel Venious, often better known simply by his professional name of Manol was a Greek Ottoman luthier living and working in Beyoğlu, Istanbul (then also known as Constantinople/Kostantiniyye).

He began by working as a furniture maker, before becoming a luthier. Today he is best known for developing the smaller, higher tuned version of the Oud now commonly known as the Turkish oud, commonly played in Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Azerbaijan and elsewhere, compared to the more varied, lower pitched and often larger Arabic oud. He also built the lavta.[1][2][3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Web Museum | Xilofonia" (in Greek). Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  2. ^ "Manol (Emmanuel Venios) - Ūd - Turkish - The Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  3. ^ "MANOL EMMANUEL VENIOS (1845 – 1915) - Handmade High Quality Musical Instrument Workshop and Store - Oud, Lute, Tambour, Saz and More..." www.theorientvalley.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-11. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
  4. ^ Prichard, Laura Stanfield. "CORNUCOPIA OF INSTRUMENTS." EMAg 27.3 (2021): 34-39.