The Terkey Bowdé Harp (Chad)

3D Model

An isolated arched harp depicted in Terkey Bowdé (Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum - Copyright David Coulson/TARA) is compared to the 3D model of an arched harp, compiled from the dimensional and constructive data of a Chadian arched harp preserved in the Musée de la Cité de la Musique in Paris (Museum number: E.2007.21.3). This painted harp has five strings and no visible tuning pegs, but the visibility of tuning pegs depends on the point of view. The painted harp is a silhouette with no internal detail. The soundbox shape is triangular, with two protruding lower edges. The short strip on the lower right is likely a suspension string, as suggested by the modelled harp. The convexity of the harp is upwardly directed as it was lying abandoned on the ground. In the Ennedi rock art, the ground is never represented but always implicit in the baseline of the represented figures.