Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Drum
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Drum

Artist Cameroon grassfields peoples (Cameroonian)
DateEarly- to mid-20th century
MediumWood | Hide
DimensionsOverall: 41 in. (104.1 cm)
ClassificationsAfrican art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2400
Terms
  • Drum
  • Africa
  • Cameroon
Collections
On View
Not on view
DescriptionAfrican drum, made of wood and hide, in the Cameroon Grasslands.

Label TextDrum Early- to mid-20th century Cameroon grassfields Cameroon Wood and hide Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2400 Numerous independent kingdoms comprise the Cameroon grassfields, and language and customs vary from one village to the next. However, the architecture and symbols depicted on this royal drum appear commonly throughout the region. All of the scenes that appear on the drum in some way convey the king's power and wealth. The king's compound, a collection of buildings with steeply pitched roofs, appears prominently in the lower register of images. The band of animals encircling the bottom represents crocodiles and the presence of water near the king's home. Such sites have clear benefits for agriculture and would have been preferred for the elite. The pattern encircling the top of the drum represents spiders. Used for divination, spiders are also symbols of wisdom.
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Funerary Figure
Bangwa peoples, Cameroon grassfields
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Cap Mask
Kom peoples, Cameroon grassfields
Early- to mid-20th century
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Cap Mask
Kom peoples, Cameroon grassfields
Early- to mid-20th century
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Male Figure
Bembe peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital slr-2009.
Male Figure
Teke peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Mask
Suku peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Covered box
Baule peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Face Mask
Dogon peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Staff Head
Kuyu peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Hyena Mask
Bamana peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.
Face Mask
Edo peoples
Early- to mid-20th century
Color corrected by Pat Cagney.
Reliquary Guardian Figure
Kota peoples
Early- mid-20th century
eMuseum
Copyright © eMuseum