Indonesia
Indonesian gamelan

Metal, hide
19th century
Diameter: 9.5 in; Depth: 4.75 in
Idiophones – Struck Idiophones – Gongs

The gong is a major percussion instrument of East Asia and Southeast Asia, both for ritual and musical purposes.  There are several generalized groupings of gongs, such as suspended gongs, boss/nipple gongs, and bowl gongs.  This is a boss gong from Indonesia, and is part of a set of pitched hanging knobbed gongs called kempul.  The number of kempul gongs in a gamelan ensemble may vary from two to ten and they range in size from 7 to 10 inches.  It is common to have the kempul set hanging on the same rack as the larger gong ageng. They are played by striking the boss with a felted mallet.

This bronze gong has an incised sunburst pattern with 23 dashed lines radiating out from the bulbous center. Unlike other gong of Southeast Asia, this gong has a flat surface that extends from the boss (protruding knob) to within a few inches where it slops to the thick rim. The sunburst design on this flat area of the gong is a slightly darker and redder bronze than the rest of the instrument. The gong has two loops soldered near the top where a black leather strap is attached for hanging.