Ur (Fara-Ur I period) : Bull's head from Royal Cemetery, decoration on the soundbox of a harp or lyre, c. 2900-2460 BC

Box and frame of wood with bands of gold and mosaic of shell, lapis lazuli and red limestone. Upper arm covered with silver. Bull's head of chased sheet gold. Total height of from 1.2 m. Since Early Dynastic times, such string instruments appear frequently in festivals, i.e. peace side of "Standard of Ur". Actual instruments of this kind have so far been recovered only from the cemetery at Ur, where they often lay beside the musicians who had followed their master or mistress in death. See also : Eva Strommenger, The Art of Mesopotamia, translated by Christina Haglund, London, Thames & Hudson, 1964, Plate XII. -- (Baghdad Museum)