Bow Harp

This is an example for an unusual type of bow-and-bridge harp lute, found along the coast of Sierra Leone. The sound box is carved from wood, rather than a calabash, and has a projecting figurehead, as well as hide strings. The earliest examples were collected in the 1790s and are among the earliest collected wooden artefacts from sub-Saharan Africa. The sound box resembles a boat and may have been influenced by the appearance of sailing ships.