The Original Star Trek Mr. Spocks Vulcan Lyre / Harp Hand Made And Signed By Dominick Giovanniello At Creative Guitar Studios 1989 - 1991. This Is A Very Rare Star Trek Artifact Only 25 Were Made.
The 12 String Instrument Is Constructed Of Mahogany, Rosewood And Ash And Measures 40? This Is The Version Used In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, As Well As Several Episodes Of Deep Space Nine And Voyager. Or A More Facinating In Depth History See The Following Article. Wah Chang and the Vulcan Lyre. Wah Chang is one of the great unsung heroes of Star Trek. Born in 1917, Chang showed an immense capacity for creative thinking and problem solving from a young age. By the time he was seven years old, Chang was already experimenting at creating art in various mediums and those around him encouraged him to continue. In the 1930s, Chang began to experiment with puppets and stop-motion photography. He worked for Disney creating wooden puppets for the animators to study as they worked on Pinocchio and Fantasia. From there, he went on to design toys and puppets, some of which were used for commercials. In 1957, Chang and two friends formed a company called Project Unlimited, Inc. Together, they created costumes, props and special effects for films and television.
Most notably, they did extensive work on The Time Machine for which they would win an Oscar. Chang co-designed the elaborate headdresses for Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra and went on to do a great body of work for producer Bob Justman on The Outer Limits. Changs association with Justman led to work on the first Star Trek pilot in 1964. He designed the make-up for the Talosians and also the first phaser.
After TOS, it was painted black and featured in an episode of Mork and Mindy (many Star Trek props and costumes found their way on to this show). The next time we would see a Vulcan Lyre was in the 1988 TNG episode When the Bough Breaks.
In 1989 Paramount engaged the services of Dominick Giovanniello at Creative Guitar Studios in San Diego to create licensed replicas of the prop. Unfortunately, the company only held the license for about two years before going out of business but in that time they created at least 25 replica lyres. These are working instruments that make sound when plucked though all the knobs are non-functional.
Instead of being solid, they are hollow which allows for the strings to vibrate and create sound. They are strung with 12 wire-wound steel electric guitar strings. Besides only having 12 strings there are a couple of other differences between this replica and Changs original. First is that the bottom corner is rounded where the original is pointed. Also, on the original, where the neck meets the body, the neck is thicker than the body. Because these replicas are hollow they have a thin piece of wood on the front and back which makes the body thicker than the neck. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Spock plays his Vulcan Lyre around the campfire with Kirk and McCoy in the final scene. Based on the appearance of the bridge and the number of strings it seems this was one of the Creative Guitar Studios replicas. However, I have not been able to confirm this. Drexlers replica was used in the ST: DS9 episode Through the Looking Glass. Intendant Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) had several Vulcan slaves in the Mirror Universe.
The lyre can be seen in her quarters in this episode. Drexlers replica was also used for two appearances on ST: Voyager where it belonged to Tuvok (Persistance of Vision and Riddles). Following its appearances on ST: Voyager, Drexler retrieved his lyre from Property Master Alan Simms.
When the Star Trek Experience opened in Las Vegas in 1998 it included a museum of props and costumes. One of Giovanniellos replicas was modified for use in this display. This version has 17 strings rather than 12 and the bridge has been altered so the strings originate under the round disc as they did on Chang's original. You can see from the blonde wood that these replicas did vary somewhat. Also for the Experience, Paramount commissioned HMS Creative Productions to create replicas that were offered for sale in the Admirals Store. HMS had a long relationship with Paramount, frequently helping to create props for the Star Trek films and television series. They were given a tracing of a lyre and some screenshots from which to develop a replica. Now experts, HMS craft replicas that are almost dead ringers for Changs original prop. They also feature 30 strings which is more in line with the number Chang intended. Included was Changs original prop!
No one seems to know what has become of it now. Hopefully, someday, the original lyre will re-surface. In 1994, Wah Chang was awarded the George Pal Memorial Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honour his many contributions to genre filmmaking. Chang continued his creative life until he died in 2003.
Towards the end of his life, he created beautiful bronzes and animal sculptures. At the time of his death, an exhibition of his work was on display at the Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco.
This item can be shipped to United States.
- Franchise: Star Trek