Object Of The Day #2
Ashante K. Charles
Monday, September 24th, 2018
Chapter Two: Prehistoric Art (27-47)
The Reconstruction of The Great Lyre With Bull’s Head
The Great Lyre With Bull’s Head also known as the “sound box” is the object I have chosen to analyze, discovered by British archaeologist Leonard Woolley. Collected in one out of several royal burials in Iraq and later exhibited at the British Museum, this marvelous artifact was identified as a lyre, based on its characteristics it resembles the musical instrument that is the harp, their qualities are discrete since the only difference is in their structure. While both the harp and the lyre are asymmetrical, the harp forms a triangular shape, whereas, the lyre is slightly similar as a quadrilateral shape, also the strings extend from the crown of the lyre and become more narrow towards the base and the strings of the harp align side by side and narrows in vertically. This artifact conveys versatility and creativity, we can recognize that the people where becoming resourceful and experimental in sculpting. The object was exquisitely crafted with precious materials such as, lapis lazuli which is a distinct rock formerly from Afghanistan, often used for decor and contains a blue pigmentation, gold as we know one of the most prestigious metals and lustrous shells to name a few. The Lyre’s width seems to be approximately three figures long and at least six feet tall. Various carving techniques were adapted in sculpture such as relief to create texture and depth through the surface of the object. This particular lyre was found over a female corpse, who had performed for a royal figure, based on the historical depiction, the object we see is said to have had a purpose in conforming to religious rites that involved the deceased.
Furthermore, this unique object was created by the Sumerian people of the east, and referring back to the Metallurgy era this object manifests a few features of the Bronze Age which the Sumerian artists had established earlier. Their style was influenced by wildlife which is conveyed through the work of art, this is seen as the artifact encompasses intricate details around the borders of the bull and along the front panel. The illustrative squares aligned signify an aspect of the Sumerians culture, these details communicate a story between animal-like figures and an interaction with the object, that is said to be “mimicking the activities of humans.”(Stokstad and Cothren 2018, 33) The artifact captivated me through its overall characteristics, it is utterly fascinating to view this artifact not only as a piece of art nonetheless an instrument. Not only can an audience be intrigued by the music the object performs also the elaborate decor. I have only ever seen harps simply as interesting wooden objects with strings, although it isn’t a lyre the instrument is rare in form and embodies a variety of combined materials.
Altogether, through my analysis a few questions have surfaced, who was this royal figure? Who was the female who played the lyre? Was this great lyre only performed to royalty in this society? What genre or style of music was composed in this particular ceremony? How was the object assembled? Since the bull is the most prominent feature of the object in whole, what does the bull symbolize? Or what does it symbolize in that specific era to the people? Lastly, where there different animals integrated into other lyres?
