Trinity College Harp - Appearance

Appearance

The harp is of a small Low Headed design with brass pins for 29 strings, the longest being c.62 cm. One extra bass pin was added at some point in its playing life. In 1961 the harp was exhibited in London, and it was dismantled and reconstructed by the British Museum into the wider shape it has nowadays, being the playable medieval form. The earlier heraldic and trade mark designs that were modelled on it were based on a thinner form that was the result of a bad restoration in the 1830s. Visitors are therefore often surprised at how wide the real harp is, compared to the harp on Irish coins.

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