Lira

Küçük Izmitli

ca. 1900 · Wood, tortoiseshell · Musical Instruments

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.

Artist

Küçük Izmitli

Date

ca. 1900

Medium

Wood, tortoiseshell

Culture

Greek

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Purchase, Robert Alonzo Lehman Bequest, 2003