Lyre Guitar

This is an instrument that dates to at least the first century A.D., but it was revived and popular in Europe, and particularly France, from approximately 1780 to 1810. Lyre guitars generally came with six single strings, although some had up to nine strings or six doubled courses (or a total of 12 strings). The tops of lyre guitars generally had two soundholes and there was typically ornamentation that varied from simple to remarkably complex. The instrument quickly lost its popularity with the introduction of the earliest commercially produced pianos.