Bowed string instrument

Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.

List of bowed string instruments

Violin family

Niccolo Paganini playing the violin, by Georg Friedrich Kersting (1785-1847)
Variants on the standard four members of the violin family include:

Viol family (Viola da Gamba family)

Karl Friedrich Abel playing the bass Viola da Gamba, by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)
Variants on the standard four members of the viol family include:

Lyra and Rebec Type

Chinese Bowed Instruments

Two performers playing the Erhu, sometimes known as the Chinese fiddle.

Rosined wheel instruments

A performer playing the Morin Khuur, the Mongolian Horse Fiddle

The following instruments are sounded by means of a turning wheel that acts as the bow.

Other bowed instruments