Object Name: Lyre (kissar)

Culture: Tambura peoples

Place of Origin: Sudan

Date/Era: 1928

Medium/Materials: Wood, beads, textile, hide, horn

Dimensions: H: 73.7 cm, W: 63.5 cm (H: 29 in, W: 25 in)

Credit Line: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Wellcome Trust.

Accession Number: X65.5526

Tambura musicians often played lyres like this one, accompanied by drums in rituals designed to rid a person of an afflicting spirit.

Source: DjeDje, J. C. (1999). “Turn Up the Volume! A Celebration of African Music”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 299