Harp

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Arched harps of this type were already in use during the Old Kingdom and remained the foremost string instruments until the end of the Middle Kingdom. From the New Kingdom onward, Egyptian arched harps co-existed with a great variety of harps in different shapes and sizes. Unlike modern European versions, ancient Egyptian harps have no forepillar to strengthen and support the neck. Skin, now missing, covered the open top of the soundbox. Older forms of arched harps like this had four or five strings; during the later New Kingdom musicians experimented with newer forms that accommodated many strings. Harp players accompanied a singer; harps, flute players and singers formed the most common type of musical ensemble that performed during festivals and banquets, funerals, and temple rituals.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art