Stunning silver harp
This stunning silver lyre was found in the "Great Death Pit", one of the tombs in the royal necropolis of Ur, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq (Early Dynastic Period, 2600-2400 BC).
This majestic instrument has been played in Mesopotamia for more than 4,000 years. Music was an important aspect of many ceremonial and ritual occasions in ancient Mesopotamia.
The frame, tuners and strings are modern reproductions made from molds of long-decayed wooden parts. The decorative panels below the bull's head depict a fallow deer and a tree on a hill, lions attacking goats, and a lion attacking a gazelle.
The silver cow head that adorns the facade has eyes inlaid with shell and lapis lazuli. The edges of the sound box have a narrow shell border and are inlaid with lapis lazuli.
Image: British Museum.
Source: websites