Gold and Lapis head of the Great Lyre. Eyes of head are either Conus or Strombus
CBS Register: Bull's gold head, and shell inlay plaques. Harp of the king. Reconstructed. PG 789
(A is the Plaque, B is the Head)
Bull's head in sheet gold with lapis beard found in grave 789 of the Royal Cemetery at Ur. There is a great deal of detail in the bull’s eyes, snout, and the curls of its beard, which represents the power of the king as well as the god Shamash. It was originally affixed to the front of a wooden lyre, the decayed remains of which were somewhat apparent in the soil when excavated.
Aruz, Joan. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. Page/Fig./Plate: 105
Zettler, Richard L., and Lee C. Horne. Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1998. See: Pages 53-57/Figure 3
Galpin, Francis W. The Music of the Sumerians and their Immediate Sucessors the Babylonian and Assyrians. Cambridge University Press, 1937. See: Plate VIII:2
