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BRONZE DONG SON DRUM 3RD-2ND BC. ( CASH, MONEY ORDER & CHECK ONLY )
Country of origin: Vietnam
Period:
Circa 3rd-2nd B.C.
Material:
Bronze
Condition:
Natural original condition with sedimentary deposits and nice green patina. The top (‘face’) is in very good condition, and there are no repairs; with expected corrosion and wear as a consequence of age and extended burial. The three holes in the ‘face’ are not damages but are marks left during the casting (molding pegs), the fill-ins having corroded away. The body has a number of these usually square or round shaped molding pegs which originally were filled in after the casting.
The ‘body’ and ‘base’ of the drum have repairs. As is the case with most of the Dong Son drums they were more often than not found partly broken and were later repaired with the original pieces. The ‘shoulder’ of the drum is in overall good condition with some small repairs. (See photographs for details)
Size:
Diameter: 16.33 inches (41.5cm.), Height: 10.02 inches (28 cm), Weight: 6700 grams
Note:
This beautiful and very typical Dong Son drum has been carefully compared with similar pieces reproduced and described in the most authoritative and scholarly book compiled by a leading Vietnamese art-historian, Ha Thuc Can, and his team of archeologists, (See: “THE DONG SON DRUMS”, published in Singapore, 1989).
The face of this drum has a 7-wing embossed star at the centre. In between these wings, or rays, are V-shaped patterns, then ‘fret bands’ with the following designs: four are ‘tooth-comb’ pattern, two are centre-dotted circles pattern and the middle band represents four long-beaked, long tailed birds flying in a counter-clock direction. The drum has four single handles ornamented with twisted rope bands.
About these bronze drums, mostly made by the lost-wax technique, Ha Thuc Can further explains:…” The problems of moulding the Dong Song drums is still a question attracting attention from researchers. In order to understand this, some experimental methods and ethnology studies have been used. First, careful study has been made of marks from the moulding technique still left on the bronze drums. Based on the two prominent vertical relief lines along the body, we can see that the drum has been moulded in a three-panel mold: two panels for the body and one for the face. The protruding marks on the inside of the base are openings for the pouring. This belongs to the lost wax technique. On some late Dong Son drums, holes on the face that still exist are evidence of discrepancies resulting from technical errors caused by the lost wax system as the liquid bronze had been pushed completely to the bottom to fill the face entirely. The round or square marks on the face and body are peg marks supporting the mould. Some researchers claim that the pegs were made of copper, while others maintain that they were made of refractory material; until now this matter ahs not been cleared”.
According to the Heger classification and the system (in 1903 the Austrian archeologist published his extensive research and classification system based on one hundred and sixty five drums) - used by Mr. Ha Thuc Can in the above mentioned book, this drum could probably by classified in the later ‘B3’ period, that is to say, around the 5th to the First century BC, although this ‘classification system’ is still being researched and developed. Dong Son drums have fascinated art historians for many centuries and a number of theories have also been expressed and researched in China in the twentieth century; these drums were even mentioned in writings as early as in the 12th and 15th centuries in China
Term & Condition:
All our items are guaranteed to be authentic and as described, otherwise clearly stated
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