Lot 28
A Sino-Shan bronze two-frog drum From Laos, probably 14th/15th century
Auction: 25 June 2008 at 12:00 BST
Description
of typical cylindrical form, decorated with four pairs of mating frogs, with bands of foliate 'tramline' decoration radiating from a central star motif, the sides of inswept form with reeded flattened loop handles, on a later hardwood stand
Dimensions
59cm diameter, 47cm high
Footnote
Note: most of these drums originate from Kha people living in the hills and mountains of northern Laos, east of Ban Houie Sai and west of Luang Prabang.
These drums, commonly known as Kha drums in Laos, are related to the idea of fertility are always decorated wih bronze frogs, which are symbols of water and rain, around the top. One-frog drums are the most ancient, dating from about 700 years ago, with three-frog drums being the most recent, dating from about 200 years later. Two-frog varieties, such as this drum, fall in the period in between and are the rarest of the three varieties.
The sound of the drum, when suspended by its handle, is likened to the the roar of thunder or bellowing of a bullfrog, a harbinger of rain.
Literature: 'Bronze Drums of Laos', Arts of Asia V, I, 1975, by Roxanna M Brown.