Lot Essay
Kettle drums originated in China in around the 8th century BC and from there moved to the surrounding cultures. This drum was probably made in Burma or Northern Thailand and is of a type known as Heger III after the German archaeologist, F.Heger, who classified the Southeast Asian drums in the early 1900s, putting those particularly associated with Burma and Northern Thailand into this category. These are generally concluded to have emerged in around the 10th century AD and their manufacture continued into recent times.
The slightly tapering sides with the top, or tympanum, extending beyond the profile and the stacked three-dimensional frogs are all characteristic of Heger III drums, as are the three-dimensional elephants marching in single file down its side, a feature not found on the other types. The snail-like protuberances behind them are interpreted either as droppings, or as being related to actual snails, which at an earlier stage had been added as bringers of rain (like the frogs) and were, later on, mistaken for the elephants' attributes.
Cf. the similar drum illustrated by A.A.Balkema, The Kettledrums of Southeast Asia, Modern Quaternary Research in Southeast Asia, vol.10, pl.19.04, p.569.
The slightly tapering sides with the top, or tympanum, extending beyond the profile and the stacked three-dimensional frogs are all characteristic of Heger III drums, as are the three-dimensional elephants marching in single file down its side, a feature not found on the other types. The snail-like protuberances behind them are interpreted either as droppings, or as being related to actual snails, which at an earlier stage had been added as bringers of rain (like the frogs) and were, later on, mistaken for the elephants' attributes.
Cf. the similar drum illustrated by A.A.Balkema, The Kettledrums of Southeast Asia, Modern Quaternary Research in Southeast Asia, vol.10, pl.19.04, p.569.