Iatmul/Chambri hand drum

Object PlacePapua New Guinea

Medium/TechniqueWood, skin, shells, fiber

DimensionsOverall: 46 x 18 x 19 cm (18 1/8 x 7 1/16 x 7 1/2 in.)

Credit LineBequest of William E. Teel

Accession number2014.163

On View

On view

ClassificationsMusical instruments

Collections

Provenance1963, acquired in Papua New Guinea by Wayne Heathcote (dealer), New York [see note]; sold and re-purchased in Europe by Heathcote; March 15, 1985, sold by Heathcote to William and Bertha Teel, Marblehead, MA; 2014, bequest of William Teel to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 26, 2014)

NOTE: According to the dealer’s notes, he purchased this drum while acting as census officer in Indigai village, paying one Australian dollar and trading a pocket comb and mirror.