Collected by Captain Haug, in 1909. Arthur J. Speyer, Jr., Berlin. Carlo Monzino (1931–1996), Lugano, Switzerland. Anonymous (sale, New York, Sotheby’s, 10 November 1987, lot 118). Masco Corporation Collection, Livonia, MI, sold 2008 through; [Sotheby’s, New York, to]; LACMA.

Gallery Label
This hand drum is carved from a single log, and a mammal-skin tympanum is attached at one end on which to play it as an instrument. One of only three known of its type, this drum is believed to be Chambri culture in its origin. The drum would have been traded to the Iatmul, another Middle Sepik River people, and then decorated and used in their traditional ceremonies. Ornamented with a spiral motif on the lower half of the drum, a cassowary bird is carved into the handle above a grimacing face. The black patina of the drum is the result of age, use, and exposure to smoke during storage, which protected the wood from invading insects.

These drums provided dramatic audio accompaniment during special ceremonies. This drum was used for ceremonial purposes—including funeral and initiation rituals, dedications of new clan houses, and canoe launchings—but not in secret rites.