JEWS HARP

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

In plan, the jews harp consists of a sub circular head, and two tapering arms, both with the characteristic lozenge cross section. The arms are complete. The rabbet is located at the apex of the head.The iron tongue is missing, presumed lost in antiquity. Filemarks are present on the arms and the head.

The jews harp measures 59.8 mm in length, 27.2 mm wide at the head and 6.3 mm thick. It weighs 18.2 grams.

The jews harp is mid to dark green in colour, with an uneven 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). Over 150 examples have been recorded on the PAS database, most with a circular head as opposed to a flattened or oval head and the majority of them have been attributed to the Post Medieval period. This example is probably Late Medieval to Post Medieval in dating (1400 - 1700 AD).

Several similar jews harps have been recorded on the PAS database, including: WMID-7C31E5 and WMID-473D61.

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