Rotes For Sale

Mini Saxon Rotes

Original design based on 7th Century instruments found in burial mounds in the Sutton Hoo and Prittlewell archeological sites, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Salvaged white oak with hand-carved maple bridge and tailpiece. Hand carved medallion figures of salvaged black walnut.

These 3/4 size lyres are 100% salvaged wood. The white oak came from an 70-80 year old broken upright piano. All other woods are salvaged scrap from earlier projects. They are nylon strung, and the tuning pegs are threaded zither pegs. Comes with a tuning key.

E-mail or call for price and availability.

Rote: Saxon #8

Original design based on 7th Century instrument found in burial mound in Sutton Hoo archeological site, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Birdseye Maple, recycled maple top, black walnut, and hand-carved flowering plum wood tuning pegs

This Saxon rote is half recycled/salvaged wood and half new wood. The front is recycled, the pegs are salvaged from a friend's tree that died, and the bridge, tailpiece, and medalions are scrap from other projects. The back is new birdseye maple. Nylon strung.

For a soundclip of this type of instrument, click here.

E-mail or call for price and availability.

Rote: Saxon #7

Original design based on 7th Century instruments found in burial mounds in the Sutton Hoo and Prittlewell archeological sites, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Birdseye Maple, black walnut, and hand-carved maple tuning pegs

The shape is similar to the Sutton Hoo and Prittlewell findings, but the "medalion", bridge, tailpiece, and peg carvings are my own design. The body is all birdseye maple as are the carved bridge and tailpiece. The hand-carved "monks" tuning pegs are maple. Nylon strung.

For a soundclip of this type of instrument, click here.

E-mail or call for price and availability.

Rote: Saxon #6

Original design based on 7th Century instrument found in burial mound in Prittlewell, Great Britain. Similar to instrument found in the Sutton Hoo archeological site, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Birdseye Maple, black walnut, and hand-carved maple tuning pegs

Here is another based on the Prittlewell finding. The body is all birdseye maple. The carved bridge is maple, and the tailpiece is maple with a hand-carved black walnut inlay. The hand-carved "knight, kind, serf" tuning pegs are maple. For a more accurately sounding 7th century lyre, I strung this with gut. It sounds much different than the nylon strung rotes.

For a soundclip of this instrument, click here.

E-mail or call for price and availability.

Rote: Germanic #6

Original design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
Maple, recycled Douglas fir

For something a little different, I created a maple Germanic rote with carved heads on the top of the yoke. (A piece for a wealthy warrior?) I'm very pleased with it, in both appearance and sound.

E-mail or call for price and availability.

Rote: Germanic #1

Design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
Red oak, ebony

I came across this rote in an old English book describing the history of stringed instruments. The photo in the book was of a reproduction, but it did give the dimensions of the original, which is what I based this on. Like the original, this one is barely 7/8" thick and hollowed out up to the slits. The tuning pins are modern; the early tuners were friction pegs, or, as on African lyres, wound around the yoke on rotating pieces of wood.

No one knows how these instruments were tuned or how they were played.

Personal collection - NFS

Rote: Germanic #2

Design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
White oak, maple, ebony

For my second Germanic rote I decided to "modernize" the design by making it thicker and adding a soundhole. This one is approximately 1 1/4" thick and hollowed out up to the tuning bar. My first Germanic rote's tone is muted; the sound barely carries. This one is quite loud and almost harp like in tone.

Collection of David Castriota, New York, NY

Rote: Germanic #3

Design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
Flamed white oak, maple, ebony

Similar to Germanic #2. Done as commission for David Castriota of New York, NY.

Collection of David Castriota, New York, NY

Rote: Germanic #4

Design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
Flamed white oak, maple, ebony, black walnut

For my newest (Winter, 2004-2005) Germanic Rote, I researched artwork and symbols of the period and used some in the peg, tailpiece, and bridge carvings. The golden hues of the flamed oak is quite striking.

In the collection of Albert Koetsier, Lake Elsinore, CA

Rote: Germanic #5

Design based on 6th-7th Century instrument found in a warrior's grave in the Black Forest.
Red oak, maple, ebony, black walnut

For this rote I once again used early Germanic symbols for the soundhole rosette and carved tailpiece. The forward facing pegs have carved faces in a singing/chanting pose.

SOLD

Rote: Saxon #1

Design based on 7th Century instrument found in Saxon ship buried in Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Flamed white oak, Douglas fir, Mahogany, ebony, maple

While visiting the British Museum several years ago, I came across the "Sutton Hoo" room, where all the excavated remains of a buried Saxon ship were on display. In one case was pieces of an oblong-shaped rote, and right next to them was a beautiful reproduction. I thought this would be an interesting project, especially after building two Germanic-style rotes. After much research, I built this one. The original has "stamped" bronze medalions on the top with some kind of crest or seal. I carved two ebony "Coog Moon" medalions to put on mine.

Collection of David Castriota, New York, NY

Rote: Saxon #2

Design based on 7th Century instrument found in Saxon ship buried in Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Flamed white oak, Douglas fir, maple, black walnut, pear wood

Some of the same flamed oak I used on Germanic Rotes #3 and #4 went into the hollowed-out body of this Saxon Rote. The tailpiece peg is a carved "hanging" squire, and each forward facing peghead is carved with a gargoyle face. The medalians are mirror-image "Coog" moons.

SOLD over the internet to Frank Grigonis, Willoughby, Ohio

Rote: Saxon #4

Original design based on 7th Century instrument found in burial mound in Prittlewell, Great Britain. Similar to instrument found in the Sutton Hoo archeological site, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Salvaged birch, maple, and hand-carved boxwood tuning pegs

Early in the new millenium another Saxon burial site was discovered east of London in Prittlewell. Before excavation, archeoligists used new X-ray technologies to see into the burial mounds. One X-ray showed the perfect outline of a 6-string rote (lyre), almost identical to the one found in the mid-20th century in Sutton Hoo. From the X-ray, shape and measurements could be easily determined. However, when excavated, the Prittlewell rote was completely deteriorated. Only the metal bird-shaped decorative pieces remained. I replicated the decorative stylized bird pieces in carved maple, with red glass gems for eyes. The body is all birch, salvaged from a neighborhood tree that died. Carved bridge and tailpiece are maple, and the hand-carved tuning pegs are boxwood.

SOLD!

Rote: Saxon #5

Original design based on 7th Century instrument found in burial mound in Prittlewell, Great Britain. Similar to instrument found in the Sutton Hoo archeological site, East Anglia, Great Britain.
Maple, black walnut, and hand-carved boxwood tuning pegs

My fascination with ancient European lyres continues with another Saxon Rote based on the Prittlewell finding. The body is all maple as are the carved bridge and tailpiece. The hand-carved "three bears" tuning pegs are boxwood.

SOLD!