Apollo lyre

Lyre-shaped, with central neck like that of a guitar. Back of sycamore, in two pieces, the sides also of sycamore decorated with painted gold 'stringing' around the edges. The belly is a single piece of varnished pine, painted around the edges with scrolling gold acanthus leaves, urns and griffins' heads on a painted black ground. The sound-hole is filled with a gilt star-shaped rose and is painted around the outer edge with a gold border of scrolling leaves on a black ground. Bridge of ebony with an ivory slip, the belly decorated above and below the bridge with painted gold musical trophies. Ebonised neck and head, ebony fingerboard, ivory nut and 15 ivory frets. Six strings, three gut and three overspun, held by six steel wrestpins in the back of the head. The 'arms' of the instrument, ending in acorn-shaped finials, have been painted with modern gold paint at some point. Stands on an ebonised and gilt rectangular plinth with applied gilt balls around the edges.