JEWS HARP

An incomplete copper alloy jews harp (or jaws harp), of Medieval to Post Medieval date, circa AD 1400 to AD 1700.

The jews harp consists of hald of the sub circular head with one of the arms. The upper section is broadly 'C' shaped in profile. The lower half is straight and is four sided. The remaining arm finishes with a rounded end terminal. The iron tongue is also missing, presumed lost in antiquity. The object has a dark-green to brown coloured surface patina.

Jews harps, or trumps have a long history of being folk instruments, with a wide geographical distributions. They are believed to be indigenous to South East Asia, and had been introduced to Europe by the Crusades (11th to 14th Centuries AD). The form of the European Jews harp, is made from metal, commonly iron in modern examples. The tongue forms a separate component hammered into a rabbet in the thickest part of the frame. The other end of the tongue is bent into a prong, however this part of the jews harp rarely survives in archaeological examples. To play the instrument, it is held in one hand, with the frame being lightly supported between the player's teeth. The metal tongue is then plucked by the fingers on the other hand. The mouth cavity acts as a resonator and the pitch can be modified by the position of the lips, tongue and cheeks (Egan, 1998, 284).

Four iron jews harps were recovered from excavations in London's waterfront, and have been dated from c.1270 to c.1400 (Egan, 1998, 284-5). This example is probably Late Medieval to Post Medieval in dating (1400 - 1700 AD) as suggested by other similar jews harps recorded on the PAS database, including: WMID-CBFB7F discovered in Staffordshire and WMID-C46193 discovered in Monmouthshire.

The incomplete jews harp measures 62.9 mm in length, 10.9 mm wide at the head and 8.2 mm thick. It weighs 8.9 grams.

Egan, G. 1998."The Medieval Household Daily Living c. 1150 - c. 1450". Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 6. 284. London: The Stationery Office.