AN UNUSUALLY TALL (76 CM) BRONZE RAIN DRUM, SOUTHEAST ASIA, 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY

拍品描述

AN UNUSUALLY TALL (76 CM) BRONZE RAIN DRUM, SOUTHEAST ASIA, 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY The elongated, slender body of cylindrical form, flaring towards the base, set with a bulbous upper section fitted with a pair of straps to opposite sides, the surface neatly impressed with geometric bands alternating with blossoms around the sides, and the top centered by a twelve-pronged star within circular geometric bands. Dimensions: Height 76.1 cm Expert’s note: Bronze drums of this type occupied a remarkable position in the ritual and material culture of nineteenth-century Southeast Asia. Far more than musical instruments, they were powerful ceremonial objects associated with fertility, agricultural prosperity, and particularly the invocation of rain. Among the Karen and related peoples of the highlands of present-day Myanmar and northern Thailand, their resonant sound was believed to communicate with ancestors and spirits. At the same time, these drums were important symbols of wealth and social standing. They could constitute some of a family’s most valuable possessions, were inherited over generations, exchanged or bartered, and employed during weddings, funerals, seasonal ceremonies, and other major communal events. During the nineteenth century, an important center of production was Nwe Daung, near present-day Loikaw in eastern Myanmar, where Shan craftsmen cast drums particularly for Karen communities. From there they entered extensive regional trading networks, reaching communities in what are today Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and well beyond. Their wide circulation illustrates the extraordinary mobility of prestigious ritual objects across the ethnic and political boundaries of mainland Southeast Asia. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s, New York, 27 August 2014, lot 436 Price: USD 2,500 or approximately EUR 3,300 after conversion and inflation, calculated on the day of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related overall form, proportions, and characteristic construction of the drum. Note that this example was dated to the 20th century. Also note that it has a height of only 61 cm.

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