Mystery, History, and Beauty: The Sudanese lyre
August 6, 2015 8:03 AM   Subscribe

"Of all the objects I’ve worked with in my eight years as an interpretation officer at the British Museum, the Sudanese lyre is perhaps the most intriguing. Made in northern Sudan, probably in the late 19th century, it would have been played by a male musician at weddings and harvest festivals as part of a small band. ... Just as fascinating as the actual instrument are the coins, beads, shells and, as yet, unidentified objects that are attached to the lyre. In a sense, the Sudanese lyre is both a single object and an assemblage of many objects each with their own story to tell."
posted by MonkeyToes (4 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
A single link to a site about something I'd never have heard of otherwise: my Platonic ideal of a MetaFilter post! Note to those unsure about clicking through: it's not a long write-up, and there are gorgeous photographs.
posted by languagehat at 8:42 AM on August 6, 2015 [1 favorite]


Room 3 of the British Museum is one of their best things. It's a smallish room by the entrance, and usually has just one small display beautifully displayed, interpreted and contextualised. It's one of my favourite rooms to just pop into and learn something completely new. Much recommended to anyone passing through Bloomsbury.
posted by tavegyl at 9:45 AM on August 6, 2015


That's very lovely. Thanks for sharing it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:29 PM on August 6, 2015


Ayub Ogada , who plays those things.
posted by glasseyes at 6:24 AM on August 11, 2015


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