Drum

Object Details

Asante artist

Label Text

Among the Asante and neighboring peoples, voluntary music associations provide entertainment for a variety of occasions, including weddings, funerals and festivals. Many of the motifs on his drums relate to Asante proverbs and refer to the qualities the society seeks in its members or to the society's relationship to the town. For example, the motif of the crescent moon and star states that while the star is more reliable, the changeable moon is brighter; musical fashions change like the moon.

On the front between the fastenings for the drumhead is the British coat of arms with the lion and the unicorn. The two circular recessed areas below the breasts could have held photographs, perhaps of British or local royalty.

Description

Wood drum with projecting female breasts, low relief carvings of animals and people on chip carved (triangles) background, rampant unicorn and lion over crown, and circular indentation under the breasts.

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Perry Linder, Chevy Chase, Maryland, -- to 1980

Exhibition History

The Stranger Among Us, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 24-September 7, 1982

Content Statement

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Image Requests

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Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Linder

Early to mid-20th century

Object number

80-19-1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Wood, hide, plant fiber, pigment

Dimensions

H x W x D: 102.6 x 68.9 x 47.9 cm (40 3/8 x 27 1/8 x 18 7/8 in.)

Geography

Ghana

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

crocodile

Leadership

turtle

weapon

spider

gameboard

crescent

star

sankofa

male

Record ID

nmafa_80-19-1

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys79cab5eee-4b9a-448f-8353-dce3ff206ac8