Leonardo reportedly presented Milan’s ruler with a silver lyre in 1482.
The instrument was part of Leonardo’s introduction to the Milanese court. He had been sent from Florence to Ludovico Sforza, Milan’s ruling duke, and the lyre was said to be a gift intended to demonstrate his artistic and musical abilities. Leonardo was celebrated as a performer and musical innovator as well as a painter, and accounts describe the instrument as unusually crafted and made of silver.
This episode helped open the way to Leonardo’s long Milanese career. In the city he served the Sforza court as an artist, engineer, architect, organizer of pageants, and military designer. His projects included The Last Supper and plans for a colossal bronze horse commemorating Francesco Sforza, Ludovico’s father.
The lyre should not be confused with a harp, flute, or lute. Those instruments belong to the broader musical world of Renaissance Italy, but the specific instrument linked to Leonardo’s 1482 presentation was a silver lyre. The story is known from later biographical tradition rather than from a surviving instrument.