DR. PAL:
Impressive bronze drums like this one were created millennia ago by highly skilled artisans of the Dong Song culture, which was centered in Vietnam and southern China. The Dong Song flourished for more than two and a half thousand years, starting about 2000 BCE, although such drums were not made until the 6th century BCE. The drums were beaten during festivities and ceremonies attracting attention from the heavens to encourage a good rainy season and ensure healthy crops. Their rhythms may also have rallied men for war.
The face of this drum follows a common pattern. At the center is a sunburst. The concentric circles around it contain creatures that depend on the sun for their life. Between them are geometric motifs. Notice the four frogs perched around the rim. Their joy in water makes them harbingers of rain.
Most drums like this have been unearthed in Vietnam, but they were widely dispersed throughout Southeast Asia, either traded or captured as prestigious and possibly magical items with spiritual associations. Drums have also been found in southern China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, often buried with their owners.
Drum
300 BCE–50 CE
Asia: Vietnam
On View
This bronze drum likely served as a burial item, intended to honor deceased ancestors or to invoke blessings from the rain gods. It features intricate figural motifs and abstract shapes, complemented by playful frog figurines on the tympanum. The casting technique used to make this substantial object demonstrates the advanced metallurgical knowledge of early Vietnamese artisans. Numerous drums, created through complex bronze-casting techniques, have been found throughout Southeast Asia, attesting to the extensive networks of trade and exchange within the region.
Details
- Title: Drum
- Date: 300 BCE–50 CE
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: 20 x 29 in. (50.8 x 73.7 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, from the Estate of Jennifer Jones Simon
- Accession Number: M.2010.1.210.S
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 3: Art from Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia, 2004, Fig. 1, no. 19 pp. 11, 34, 36-39
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1673 p. 433
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