Lira, ca. 1890
Greece
Wood, tortoiseshell, ivory; H. 15 7/8 in. (40.3 cm), W. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 2003 (2003.378)
Technical Glossary
Greece
Wood, tortoiseshell, ivory; H. 15 7/8 in. (40.3 cm), W. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 2003 (2003.378)
The lira is a descendant of the rebec, a bowed folk and minstrel instrument of the late Middle Ages. The ancient type survives in Greece and other countries of the southern Balkans, but rarely as elaborately decorated as this one. Shown here without a bow, this lira has a reconstructed bridge.
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Related Index Terms
Geography/Place
- • Musical Instrument, organized by culture, Europe
- • Musical Instrument, organized by culture, Europe, Balkan Peninsula (including Greece)
Material and Technique
- • Ivory
- • Ivory, Europe
- • Wood, Musical Instrument
- • Wood, organized by technique
- • Wood, organized by technique, Inlaid
Object
Technical Glossary
- • Ivory
- • turtleshell
- • Wood
