drum core with cup-like shape on either end of decorated cylinder; image of a tiger on each "cup", one is crawling among pine branches, while the other is looking up, toward center handle, also among pine branches; stylized pine trees with large spoked circles with three smaller center circles; stylized clouds and bamboo leaves

Large hand-drum core with tigers and pines, late 16th century

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These ornately decorated lacquer objects are the cores of handheld drums used in performances of Noh theater and Kabuki. To these cores would have been affixed a drumhead of animal hide.

The lacquer decorations are in the so-called “kōdaiji” style, which was popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Production of kōdaiji lacquer objects, which often feature floral motifs, involved the painstaking application of many coats of black lacquer, gold and/or silver dust and flakes, and transparent lacquer.

Details
Title
Large hand-drum core with tigers and pines
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2015.79.405
Catalogue Raisonne
Murase, Art through a Lifetime, no. 777
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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drum core with cup-like shape on either end of decorated cylinder; image of a tiger on each "cup", one is crawling among pine branches, while the other is looking up, toward center handle, also among pine branches; stylized pine trees with large spoked circles with three smaller center circles; stylized clouds and bamboo leaves