Lute

Unknown

200–500 · Wood with traces of paint · Medieval Art

Strings ran from the top of this instrument’s long neck to the end of the sound box, which has indentations (called the waist) on its sides. The musician’s right hand probably plucked the strings while the left hand used the lower portion of the neck as a fingerboard. This lute is one of only four of the type to survive; the indentations on the sound box suggest that it may be an ancestor of the guitar.

Artist

Unknown

Date

200–500

Medium

Wood with traces of paint

Culture

Roman/Byzantine

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1912