This is a detail showing two of the brass brackets on one of the two oldest surviving clarsachs from Scotland. The clarsach dates from around 1500 and is known as the 'Lamont Harp' after the family who owned it in the early 16th century.
The decorative brackets reinforce the joint of the forepillar to the underside of the smooth harmonic curve.
There are many examples in Scotland of harpers holding hereditary offices in court and castle. The harper was a member of the professional order that survived longest in Gaelic society.
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