HANDBOOK OP THE COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 65 



heads cut from one large hide and stretched in such a manner that 

 the seam extends around only a portion of the rim, while in other 

 specimens the two heads are separate, their edges brought together 

 and stitched in a seam around the entire rim. These drums were 

 beaten with a rather short stick having a padded end. This end 

 was usually formed by winding rags around the end of the stick. 



No. 9057 is a Sisseton Sioux (Dakota) drum with hoop of bent 

 wood and two rawhide heads stitched together around the outside 

 of the hoop. It has a clever handle made by slitting the edge of 

 one head and stretching the piece into a loop. The drum is painted 

 red, green, and black, with a four-pointed star on one side. A 

 Tonka wa drum from southern Texas (8453) is painted brown and 

 ornamented with red and green paint. A twisted thong of hide 

 forms a loop handle. The drumstick has a stuffed head of deer- 

 skin and its other end is ornamented with a tassel of leather thongs. 



An interesting group of double-headed drums from Siam, China, 

 and Japan are cask shaped and have brass-ringed staples by Avhich 

 they were suspended when in use. A royal drum (3946) was given 

 to President Pierce by the King of Siam. The shell is dark wood 

 with a bilge like a cask. Two rawhide heads are nailed to the shel] 

 with large brass-headed nails. No. 27257 is similar but a little 

 larger. A particularly large Chinese drum is 54032, which has a 

 length of 23 inches and a maximum diameter of 31 inches. The 

 shell is cask shaped and decorated with a vine and flowers in green 

 on a brown ground. One end is painted black and the other is 

 painted with a dragon and other mythical animals. A notable spec- 

 imen of this type was given to the Museum in 1876 by the Chinese 

 Imperial Centennial Commission (54040). On the inside of the 

 cask-shaped shell are two steel wires fastened at one end. One wire 

 has its free end bent at a right angle like the tongue of a jew's- 

 harp and the other wire forms a coil around it. These wires make 

 a jingling noise when the drum is disturbed. Such drums are said 

 to have been used in temples consecrated to Confucius. The Bud- 

 dhist priests of China used a drum in their religious ceremonies, 

 such an instrument being 54047. 



A temple drum from Tokio, suspended in a carved frame is 93207. 

 On top of the frame is an ornament in openworked and closed brass 

 which is said to represent the three severed pearls enveloped in 

 flames, called Kwa-yen. 



An elaborately decorated drum from Japan is 94666. The shell 

 is painted with designs of dragons and clouds in colors on a golden 

 ground an dthe heads are painted with geometrical designs in colors 

 on a background of gold. The drumstick is lacquered. Another cask- 

 shaped drum from Japan has two characters branded between 

 the ringed staples. The shell is turned from a log of wood and. 



