2-580-412 - © CM Dixon/Heritage Images

Queen's Lyre from Ur, southern Iraq, c2600-c2400 BC. Stringed instrument with a bull's head. The front panels are made of lapis lazuli, shell and red limestone originally set in bitumen. The gold mask decorating the front of the sounding box had been crushed and had to be restored. While the horns are modern, the beard, hair and eyes are original and made of lapis lazuli. This was one of two found in the grave of 'Queen' Pu-abi, part of the Royal Tombs in the cemetery at Ur in southern Iraq. From the British Museum's collection.