A LARGE AND HEAVY BRONZE RAIN DRUM, DONG SON CULTURE
Vietnam, ca. 500 BC to 300 AD. Finely cast, the drumhead is decorated with a central solar medallion encircled by concentric geometric bands. The sides are set with two pairs of loop handles. The bronze is covered overall in a fine, naturally grown patina with cuprite and malachite encrustations. The drum produces a good sound when struck.


Provenance:
From the private estate of Roland de la Moussaye, Paris, France. An old label to the base. Roland de la Moussaye (1932-2022) was a French scholar with broad interests and vast expertise. He studied ornithology and lepidopterology, writing several books on the subjects, and worked as a professor of French literature in Japan. He also studied Chinese, Indonesian, and Malay, receiving a degree in Chinese from the École des langues orientales, and was an avid collector of Chinese art.

Condition:
Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, losses and possibly minor old fills, dents, cracks, scratches.

Weight: 14.6 kg
Dimensions: Diameter 48 cm


Dong Son
(named for Dong Son, a village in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD. Vietnamese historians attribute it to the states of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, throughout the first millennium BC. The culture long remained a mystery to western archaeologists, and it was known only through its bronze objects, many of which were taken from burial sites. Dong Son bronze objects were exhibited in Europe for a century before their original location was even determined, and several theories and speculations over the dating methodologies of the culture continue to this day.


Bronze rain drums
were invented by the Dong Son culture and produced from about 600 BC or earlier until the third century AD. Ranging in height from a few inches to over six feet, up to four feet in diameter, and often of considerable weight, the drums are one of the culture's most astounding examples of metalworking. Examples produced in Vietnam, in addition to works made locally, have been found in south China and throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia. The discovery of Dong Son drums in New Guinea is seen as proof of trade connections - spanning at least a thousand years - between this region and the technologically advanced societies of Java and China.


Bronze drums
are still being used ceremoniously in Southeast Asia by the Yi people, Zhuang people, Miao people and Qabiao people in northern Vietnam and southern China. They are generally struck in the center with a soft mallet and on the side with a wood or bamboo stick. Among the ethnic Vietnamese, they are still used in some rituals, such as those of the Hung kings, but are rarely used as a musical instrument anymore. In Thailand, the Dong Son drum is also used in some ceremonies, where it is called the Mahorathuek.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 29 March 2018, lot 36
Estimate: HKD 400,000 or approx.
EUR 51,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy ritual drum, Dong Son culture, Vietnam, ca. 3/2nd century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related central solar medallion. Note the size (42 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 29 September 2022, lot 266
Price: EUR 10,400 or approx.
EUR 11,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A massive bronze rain drum, Dong Son culture, first millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related central solar medallion Note the size (66 cm).