User:Eweitkamp/sandbox
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History[edit]
The Lyres of Ur are one of the earliest recorded musical instruments in the world. The lyres come from ancient Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic III Period (2550-2450 BCE).[1] Leonard Woolley, a British archaeologist, discovered the lyres amongst the bodies of ten women in the Royal cemetery at Ur. One body was even said to be laying against the lyre with her skeletal hand placed where the strings would have been.[2] Upon this discovery, Woolley was quick to pour in a liquid plaster to recover the delicate form of the wooden frame.[3] The wood of the lyres was decayed but since some were covered in nonperishable materials, like gold and silver, they were able to be recovered.[4]
The depictions on the lyres show what great skill and awareness of dimensions the Sumerians knew.[5]
Purpose[edit]
A Lyre is a musical instrument that is stringed and has a role projecting from the body. There are two types of lyres: box and bowl. Like their names suggest the box lyres have a boxlike body and the bowl lyres have a round body with a curved back. The Lyres of Ur are box lyres. They were played in an upright position with the strings plucked with both hands.[6]
Because of how they were discovered it is believed that the lyres were used in burial ceremonies in accompaniment to songs. Each lyre has 11 strings to play on that would produce a buzzing noise that repeated throughout the song. The musician playing the instrument would repeat the pattern displayed on the lyre. By repeating this pattern it is said that the music would evoke Yin/Yang to the "outer world". The musician would then become a manifestation of god and the sound would be their tool of creation.
Description[edit]
The "Great Lyre" is 13'' in height and 4 1/2" in width. The shape of the lyre is meant to resemble a bull's body. Its head, face and horns are all wrapped in gold foil.[7] The head is garnished with lapis lazuli hair, bear, and eyes. Below the beard is a front panel made of lapis lazuli, shell and red limestone originally set in bitumen.[2] This frontal panel depicts a figure holding onto a bull's horns above, and animals acting as humans below. The bull head itself, represents the sun god Shamash. Shamash is a divine judge who could descend into the underworld.[1]
The "Queen's Lyre" is 44" in height and is similar in appearance to that of the "Great Lyre".[7] The mask of the bull is gold. The eyes, hair, and beard are all made of lapis lazuli and the horns are modern. The shape of the lyre is meant to resemble a bull's body. A noticeable difference between the "Great Lyre" and the "Queens Lyre" is that the "Great Lyre" has a straight forehead where the "Queen's Lyre" curves slightly around the brow bone.[5]
The "Golden Lyre" got its name because the whole head of the bull is made of gold. The eyes are made of inlaid mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli. The beard is similar in appearance to the "Great Lyre" and the "Queen's Lyre". The body of the bull was originally wood but did not survive. Its discoverer, Woolley, believes though that unlike the other lyres the body of the "Golden Lyre" would have originally have had legs.[5]
The "Silver Lyre" is 42" in height and 38" in width. It is one of two silver lyres discovered in "The Great Pit". Both lyres were made of wood and then covered in sheets of silvered that were attached with small silver nails. The eyes are made of lapis lazuli and the lyre was also trimmed with narrow borders of lapis lazuli. This is the only lyre that is not bearded. Because of this fresh face some believe it is actually a cow rather than a bull.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Lyre with Bearded Bull's Head and Inlaid Panel". With Art Philadelphia. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ a b "Queen's Lyre". British Museum. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ "The Lyre of Ur, Carl McTague". www.mctague.org. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ Lawergren, Bo (November 2005). "Two Lyres from Ur". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ a b c Aruz, J. & Wallenfels (2003). Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- ^ "Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". academic.eb.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
- ^ a b "Lyres from The Royal Tombs of Ur". sumerianshakespeare.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.