The Captivating Story of a Central African Lyre Made from Human Remains

A Macabre Marvel from the Heart of Africa

In the shadowed heart of 19th-century Central Africa, an artifact both mesmerizing and unsettling emerged—a lyre fashioned not just from wood and string, but from the very remnants of human existence. Today, this extraordinary instrument rests within The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a silent testament to the mysterious interplay between art, mortality, and the global currents of its time.

An Instrument Like No Other

Measuring just 36.5 centimeters long, this lyre is a masterpiece of both ingenuity and audacity. Its construction reads like a catalog of the uncanny:

Human Skull: The lyre’s body, its somber centerpiece, confronts the viewer with a stark reminder of mortality.
Antelope Horns: Arcing gracefully, these horns lend structure and a primal elegance to the instrument’s silhouette.
Wood, Skin, Gut, and Hair: The framework and strings, meticulously assembled, transform the macabre into the musical.

Every element of this lyre whispers of an artist unafraid to cross boundaries—between the living and the dead, the sacred and the profane.

Lost and Found: The Lyre’s Journey Across Continents

When this enigmatic instrument first arrived in Europe in the late 1800s, it confounded collectors and scholars alike. Mistakenly attributed to South America, its true Central African origins were only recognized in 1906—a telling reflection of how little was understood (or appreciated) about African creativity at the time.

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Yet, the lyre’s story is not just one of misidentification. It is also a tale of cultural collision. Crafted, perhaps, to satisfy the European hunger for the exotic and the bizarre, this instrument may never have echoed through a Central African village. Instead, it was likely conceived as a curiosity—a haunting souvenir for those enthralled by the mysteries of “the other.”

Symbolism, Spirituality, or Simply Spectacle?

Despite its chilling materials, there is no evidence that such lyres played a role in local rituals or musical traditions. Some speculate about hidden spiritual meanings, or connections to beliefs about death and the afterlife. But more likely, this lyre was a product of commerce—its shock value meant to intrigue and unsettle its European audience.

A Global Tapestry of Macabre Instruments

The Central African lyre is not alone in its use of human and animal remains. Across the world, cultures have created instruments from the bones and bodies of the departed:

Tibetan Damaru and Rkangling: Ritual objects carved from human bones, used in meditations on impermanence.
Ashanti Royal Drums: Adorned with the skulls of vanquished foes, these drums proclaimed power and victory.

Such artifacts reveal a universal human fascination with the boundary between life and death—and the urge to give it voice.

Echoes of an Unsettling Past

The lyre made from a human skull and antelope horns is more than a musical instrument; it is a relic of a world in flux. It embodies the complex dance of creativity and commerce, of curiosity and misunderstanding, that defined the 19th-century encounter between Africa and Europe.

Today, as it rests silently in a museum, this haunting lyre invites us to listen—not just to the music it might once have made, but to the deeper stories of identity, exchange, and the enduring power of art to both disturb and enchant.