Lyre Fragment
Plaque
| Object Number: | B17694A |
|---|---|
| Current Location: |
Middle East Galleries Currently On Display |
| Provenience: | Iraq Ur |
| Archaeology Area: | PG 789 |
| Date Made: | ca. 2450 BCE |
| Section: | Near Eastern |
| Materials: | Shell Bitumen |
| Length: | 31.5 cm |
| Width: | 11 cm |
| Depth: | 1.5 cm |
| Credit Line: | British Museum/University Museum Expedition to Ur, Iraq, 1928 |
| Other Number: | U.10556 - Field No SF |
Description
Plaque from the Great Lyre.
CBS Register: Bull's gold head, and shell inlay plaques. Harp of the king. Reconstructed. PG 789
(A is the Plaque, B is the Head)
Shell inlayed plaque found just beneath the gold bull's head in grave 789 of the Royal Cemetery at Ur. This plaque was also affixed to the original wooden lyre and its imagery appears to depict the sequence of decent into the underworld. The upper register displays the hero struggling with mythical beasts; below this, animals serve a funerary feast while in the next register other animals play music (notably, one plays a bull-headed lyre). Finally, there is a depiction of the scorpion man who is thought to guard the underworld itself.
Current & Past Exhibitions:
| Ancient Mesopotamia: The Royal Tombs of Ur (1983 - 1998) | View Objects in Exhibition |
| Iraq's Ancient Past: Rediscovering Ur's Royal Cemetery ( Oct 2009 - Jan 2017) | View Objects in Exhibition |
| Middle East Galleries (21 Apr 2018) | View Objects in Exhibition |
Bibliography:
| [Book] Dorling Kindersley Limited. 2014. History of the World in 1,000 Objects.. London. Dorling Kindersley Limited. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 22 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Olbrantz, John, and Kawami, Trudy S. 2013. Breath of Heaven, Breath of Earth: Ancient Near Eastern Art from American Collections.. University of Washington Press. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 35/1.17 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Quick, Jennifer. 2004. Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. ed. 1st. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 149 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Catalogue, Exhibition] Aruz, Joan. 2003. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millenium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus.. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 105 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] de Schauensee, Maude. 2002. Two Lyres from Ur.. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. pg. 125 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Article] Adams, Liliana O. 2003. "Sumerian Harps from Ur". The American Harp Journal. The American Harp Society, Inc. Vol. 19. no. 3. pg. 9-13 Actual Citation | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Catalogue] Horne, Lee C., and Zettler, Richard L. 1998. Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: 53, 55 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Polin, Claire C. 07 Apr 1954. Gifts of Jubal: Musical Instruments from the Ancient East.. Philadelphia. The University Museum. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: plate I, II | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
| [Book] Galpin, Francis W. 1937. The Music of the Sumerians and their Immediate Sucessors the Babylonian and Assyrians.. Cambridge University Press. Actual Citation : Page/Fig./Plate: Plate VIII:2 | View Objects related to this Actual Citation |
You may also be interested in these objects:
Report problems and issues to digitalmedia@pennmuseum.org.