Description
Bronze drums like this one were brought from south-west China into south-east Asia more than 2000 years ago, and since then, they have played an important role in festivals – even up to the modern day. The drum is played during festivals by tying a rope to the two handles, then draping the rope over the shoulders so it can be carried as it is being struck.
The middle of the circular top of the drum has a sun-like image with rays stretching out from the middle. This is the part that is struck. Moving outwards from the centre we see a number of concentric circles, with the spaces between them filled with depictions of birds, fish and other designs. Around the outer edge are four frogs.
This drum was donated to the Tokyo National Museum in 1901 by Prince Damrong, the younger brother of the King of Thailand, Rama the Fifth. It is valuable not only as a reminder of festivals long past, but also as a symbol of the relationship between Thailand and Japan in the modern day.
This drum was donated to the Museum by a younger brother of King Rama V of Thailand in 1901.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
March 16, 2026