Assyrian mural about playing the harp
Assyrian mural of a man and woman playing the harp
The female performer wears a beaded necklace and the male a feather cap with a tamed lion under palm trees and cypress trees.
It dates back to 645-635 BC
To the same extent that the East exported prophets, it exported music. The universality of the language of music is true, but the most important of its forms, perhaps, the inflections of its melodies, and many... many... of its instruments, have emerged in our inhabited East as spirits, rhythms, and messages.
It was discovered in 1853 in Ashurbanipal's northern palace in Nineveh.
It is currently housed in the British Museum in London.
Source: websites