Sound Holes and Geometrical Figures. Clues to the Terminology of Ancient Mesopotamian Harps

Abstract

On the sides of the vertical harps on the Assyrian Palace reliefs in the British Museum one observes a characteristic geometrical figure inscribed in a consistent manner. The figure resembles a rectangle the sides of which are concave (Plate Xa). The oldest (653 B.C.) vertical harps shown on these reliefs ' are played by seven members of King Teumman's Elamite orchestra (S. W. Palace at Nineveh, BM 124802, detail here, Plate Xb). Most of these harps are marked with a pair of concave-sided rectangles. There are six clear marks, five places are too eroded to show distinct marks and three places seem to lack marks. The sculptor's skill and care varies from harp to harp and the workmanship seems generally poor for the instruments where the rectangles are missing. In Assurbanipal's North Palace at Nineveh (645-635 B.C.) there are two meticulously carved musical scenes (BM 124920, 124922) where vertical harps (Plate Xc) are marked with pairs of concave rectangles. Each mark is framed by a narrow border and its centre is gouged deeply into the side of the instruments as if representing a hole through the side of the body (Plate Xa). On the other hand, in the Elamite harps the interior of each concave rectangle is flush with the surrounding. However, in view of their poorer workmanship, these rectangles are probably also meant to represent holes. Vertical harps also existed in Egypt during this time. They closely resemble the Assyrian harps but lack the concave rectangles. Some extant Egyptian harps are known 2 and their construction indicates that the harp body was made from a single piece of wood hollowed out to form a U-shaped cross section. The body was completely wrapped in thin leather, closing the top of the U where it formed the sound board. The thickness of the wooden sides (i.e. the verticals of the U) is about 15 mm in one Egyptian harp. The gouged centres in the concave rectangles, mentioned above, would most likely have penetrated such relatively thin sides. Holes of the type found in the sides of Mesopotamian harps seem to have had a long history prior to the 7th century. Well preserved relief plaques (1950-1530 B.C.)