Total height cm. 55
Maximum width cm. 83
Weight kg. 1,1
Material wood, ivory, snakeskin
Nr. of strings 5
Longest string cm. 65
Tuning presumably pentatonic
The extremely tapered soundbox of this curved harp (very similar to harp SC0030)
is entirely covered in snakeskin; the ivory string arm, which continues the ideal arc of the instrument, forms a single line with the structure of the soundbox and is decorated with three superimposed designs: at the lowest level one sees the head of a crocodile with its jaws open, from which comes a seminude torso of a woman with her arms raised, holding a vase, out of which in their turn come fish and birds. It is worth noting that the ivory sculpture is embellished by
the coloration of the eyes of the figurines. Traditionally strung with five strings, this type of harp is typical of Mangbetu production from the region of the river UČlČ (northern Republic of the Congo) and can be dated to the mid 20th c.
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