Slit Drum

early 20th century

Barambo, African

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About the Artwork

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Provenance

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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Audio Transcript

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About the Artwork

Large wooden slit drums are used by chiefs or prominent nobles to transmit the coded tones of important messages over long distances, from village to village. Carved from a single tree trunk, the drum's walls vary in thickness and when struck produce a variety of tones, pitches, and rhythms that convey announcements and coded messages. The horned buffalo shape and large size of this drum reflect the high social status of its original owner. Drums of this type are installed in the center of the village in a special structure where they can be protected from the rain and sun.

Title Slit Drum

Artwork Date early 20th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. African

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Barambo

Medium Wood with pigment

Dimensions Overall: 48 × 96 × 48 inches (121.9 × 243.8 × 121.9 cm)

Classification Musical Instruments

Department African Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1986.26

Markings

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Provenance

(Alan Brandt, Inc., New York, New York, USA);
1986-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London, 1995, cat. no. 46.

Bulletin of the DIA 62, no. 3 (1986): p. 15.

"Recent Acquisitions." African Arts 20, no. 2. p. 65 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Barambo, African, Slit Drum, early 20th century, wood with pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, 1986.26.