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Shell lyre

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The body of the instrument is a large, transverse oval wooden bowl. The yoke construction is relatively small in relation to it. Skin strap tension of the membrane against a rounded piece of skin resting on the outside of the shell. Ten strings. Longitudinal arms diverging towards the crossbar. Tangle rings that bind the upper string ends together with bark fibre strips. The string strand, divided into two groups of five strings each, is guided along the lower shell wall through two perforations in the top and two perforations in the wall and is tied to two crosspieces on the outside. The strings are of different thicknesses. All openings in the soundboard are reinforced by stitching around the edges. from Ulrich Wegner: Afrikanische Saiteninstrumente, Staatliche Museen Berlin - SPK, 1984 (Appendix Object Catalogue)

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Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
musical instruments
Dimensions
Objektmaß: L:61,2 cm; H:ca.28 cm; B:55,3 cm
Material/Technique
Wood, Leather , Plant fibre
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III E 6354

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    where
    British East Africa
    Ussoga
    Lubbas (Lubas)
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Africa

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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