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Shell lyre

The instrument body is a longitudinal oval calabash half with a glued-on membrane. Longitudinal arms diverging towards the crossbar and resting with their lower, joined ends in the spout of the calabash. Four strings. The string material (woollen cord) probably not original. Ball rings binding the strings together with strips of cloth. The lower ends of the strings are knotted into a large loop that runs around the slightly protruding bar ends. The long arms and the yoke angles are wrapped in reptile or mammal skin. Skin flap coverings at the points where the longitudinal arms penetrate the membrane. Eighteen small, round perforations symmetrically arranged in four groups in the body cover. Stripes of incised pattern following the edge of the shell on the outside of the shell. An animal motif in the centre line. from Ulrich Wegner: Afrikanische Saiteninstrumente, Staatliche Museen Berlin - SPK, 1984 (Appendix Object Catalogue)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Object type
musical instruments
Dimensions
Länge x Breite x Höhe: 49,3 x 26,9 x 8 cm
Material/Technique
Calabash, Leather (reptile), Leather , Cord (twisted), Fabric (cotton)
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 40261

Provenance and sources

where
East Africa [Region]
North-East Africa [Region]

who
Alfred Klinkmüller (1912-02-21 - 1977-08-10) - Collectors

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