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When drums are supported by sculpted works, female figures are most often depicted. Occasionally, a multitier complex of male and animal figures lifts the drum. This example, played with the rattan rope beater of the hands, is associated with the Nkisi cult of the lower Zaire river region, and adjacent areas to the north.
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Title: Ngoma (drum)
Date: 19th century
Geography: Loango (just north of Pointe-Noire), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Culture: Vili or Yombe people
Medium: Wood, fiber, glass
Dimensions: H. 30 11/16 × W. 9 7/16 × D. 6 3/4 in. (78 × 24 × 17.2 cm)
Classification: Membranophone-single-headed / cylindro-conical
Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Object Number: 89.4.1743
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