Papua New Guinea, East Sepik Province, Ramu River region
Iatmul People

Wood, reptile skin, pigments
ca. 1930s – 1940s CE
Length: 19.75 in
Membranophones – Directly Struck

A master hand-carved wooden drum with a slender, hourglass-shaped body called a kundu. This kundu consists of two bell-shaped halves connected via a central barrel and with an integral handle bearing abstract avian head terminals. Incised on each half of the drum are two projected highly abstract anthropomorphic faces with dramatically slanted eyes, narrow noses, and curved mouths. The geometric incised patterns are superbly carved.  There are fine traces of Recketts blue, a washing powder introduced by the Germans in the early part of the 20th century, plus remnant white lime.   Though it’s too sharp to be stone cut it is the work of a master carver and the skin is tight and undamaged.  There are no cracks or repairs.

Kundu drums are made throughout Papua New Guinea, from a variety of local woods, and come in many forms – some dramatically carved like this one, others painted in bright colors.  They are made through a complex process of hand-carving and burning that has been repeated for centuries. When in use, wax, honey, or coal tar is sometimes put onto the skin to alter the drum’s sound.   For the Iatmul, the sound of the Kundu represents the voice of “spirits”.