Lot 167B
Oceania, Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia), ca. early 20th century CE. One of my favorites! A large, elegant wooden slit drum made for use in ceremonies. The body is a rich, red-brown hardwood, and the drum has been carved mainly from a single log, hollowed out through its center and with solid, round slices of trunk attached to either end. A long, thin, rectangular slit is open on the top side, which is denoted by a slight planing of the log surface to create a narrow flat space that encompasses the slit and gives it a border. Slits are also excised from the trunk slices at either end along the same line. Incised around the two horizontal ends of the drum are a series of repeated wave-like motifs. The slit drum, known elsewhere in Polynesia as a "pate", is called a "to'ere" amongst the Marquesans. Size: 27" W x 7.3" H (68.6 cm x 18.5 cm); 12.2" H (31 cm) on included custom stand.
Ancient Marquesans were great drummers, creating multiple forms of the instrument and knowing many different sounds they could elicit from them. Dordillon (1808-1888), the French missionary who recorded the Marquesan language, lists thirteen different terms specifically referring to the sound that drums make. They played the to'ere (slit drum) in conjunction with a bass drum and a shorter drum; in the valley of Pua Mau, they also used a snare drum. They used drums to call warriors to the battlefield and to celebrate festivals. Stories of a famous Marquesan drum player named Tame, who lived in the early to mid-20th century, describe him leading a blindfolded dancer through a routine using just his drumming.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Maui, Hawaii, USA collection
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#146137
- Condition: Surface is weathered and worn, with tiny chips and nicks along its length. One end has a larger chip knocked out of its center, but this does not break through to the interior of the drum, which is still playable.
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