arched harp

Elaborately decorated model arched harp: the underside of the soundbox, which is in the shape of a ladle, is rounded and finely carved. It ends in a human head, turned slightly to the left, with lengthy wig and double crown. The whole of this area is covered with a thin layer of plaster and painted in great detail over a yellow base. The upper part of the double crown is yellow, the lower green. There is a slot for the ??bt of the crown, now wanting. The yellow wig has bold green striations; there is a simple red necklace between the ends of the wig. Below is a very elaborate floral necklace of three chains suspended from a further link having a winged disc in the centre and Horus head at either end surmounted by a sun disc; the colours are green, red, black, white. On top of the soundbox is a rectangular panel bounded on either side by a rounded strip of wood, and at the lower end near the back of the wig with a strip of reed. On either side of the suspension rod, which has holes for six strings, are two strips of bone with criss-cross decoration, and between them is an elaborate pattern made up of light blue, dark blue, greeny-blue, and dull red faience rectangles, separated by small bone rectangles, and fixed in a greenish paste between two very thin strips of bone. Along the bottom is painted a white base bar, in which are two holes for pegs; on either side is a floral design in red and green. Round the upper end of the soundbox is a now damaged pattern of lotus buds in green. The sharply curved neck is rectangular in section and ends in a carved hawk's head. There are holes on the underside for five pegs, three of which survive intact. The decoration of the neck begins with a continuation of the lotus-bud pattern at the upper end of the soundbox. There then follow bands of green, black, red, yellow, of varying widths; either side of the extensive green band containing the pegs is a band of yellow divided into three by two black lines.