About the Artwork
Large wooden slit drums are used by chiefs or prominent nobles to transmit the coded tones of important messages over long distances, from village to village. Carved from a single tree trunk, the drum's walls vary in thickness and when struck produce a variety of tones, pitches, and rhythms that convey announcements and coded messages. The horned buffalo shape and large size of this drum reflect the high social status of its original owner. Drums of this type are installed in the center of the village in a special structure where they can be protected from the rain and sun.
Slit Drum
early 20th century
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African
Barambo
Wood with pigment
Overall: 48 × 96 × 48 inches (121.9 × 243.8 × 121.9 cm)
Musical Instruments
African Art
Founders Society Purchase, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund
1986.26
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Provenance
(Alan Brandt, Inc., New York, New York, USA)
1986-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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African Masterworks In The Detroit Institute of Arts. Washington and London: The Detroit Institute of Arts and Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995, cat. no. 46.
Bulletin of the DIA 62, no. 3. 1986, p. 15.
"Recent Acquisitions," African Arts, vol. 20, no. 2, p. 65 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Barambo, African, Slit Drum, early 20th century, wood with pigment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Ralph Harman Booth Bequest Fund, 1986.26.
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