Rare Geelvink Bay Drum
Cenderawasih (Geelvink) Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, d. early 20th c.
Carved wood
15½” h x 9” w (39.37 x 22.86 cm)
SOLD
According to Smidt (2006), drums formed an important link between the living and the ancestors during times of feasting and other ceremonial occasions: “The ancestral voices were communicated through the sound of drums when these were played by men during feasts and ceremonies, often in accompaniment of dance, for example, in honour of a first-born son of a chief or to celebrate a successful turtle catch.”