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Lute

Nigerian half-spiked Lute

Nigeria
Unknown

Wood, Leather Straps, Goat Skin
ca. Mid-20th century

Length: 25 inches
Chordophone - Plucked - Lute

Multi stringed harps are found among different people living in the West Atlantic region.  They share a similar shape of an elongated body that is hollowed out and covered with an animal skin.  Strings are attached to the neck by wrapping them around the slender neck and binding them with cords. Elizabeth Bennett of Africa Direct wrote: This was collected by a Denver sea captain traveling in Nigeria, in the early 1940s.

 

Owner:
Catalog#: AF-CHLT-4