48 SARAWAK ETHNOGRAPHICAL COLLECTION. 



This specimen some years ago was deposited in Sibu fort as a 

 pledge of good faith by a native chief but it was never 

 redeemed ; it has been valued by Malays at $70. 



3. Brunei Malay — Chanang naga. (Plate "VT fig. 15). 



Brass gong with hemispherical boss ; the face is decorated 

 with two dragons in bold relief and with a geometric pattern 

 round the border and between the dragons in lower relief, the 

 side is also ornamented with a geometric pattern in low relief. 

 The gong is suspended by a chain with two diverging limbs, 

 one of the links in the middle of each divering limb is 

 cast in the form of a bird and the junction of the diverging limbs 

 with the main chain is marked by a similar but larger link. 

 Diam. in front 49 cm. at back 394 cm. ; depth 12 cm. Total 

 length of chain 58 cm. ; of diverging limbs 35 cm. 



Catalogue No. 1268. [Pd. ii. vi. 03]. 



These gongs are cast by a cire-perdue process ; a rough 

 model of the gong is first made in wood, over this is spread a 

 layer of wax the surface of which is carved and tooled into the 

 desired pattern, the wax is lifted off the wooden model in two 

 pieces — the front and the side, — these are then joined and backed 

 with more wax, and a mould of clay mixed with sand is built upso 

 as to completely enclose the wax pattern, a small spout being 

 left at one point ; the whole is then burnt in a kiln and the melt- 

 ed wax is poured out of the spout of the clay mould and the 

 molten brass poured into it. A new wax pattern has of course, 

 to be made for every gong. 



The dragons certainly suggest a Chinese origin for these 

 gongs, still the dragon is also prominent in Indonesian art so 

 that it would be rash to dogmatize on the subject. The signi- 

 ficance of the bird-links in the suspensory chain I have been 

 unable to discover. 



4. Sarawak Malay — Chanang. 



Small brass gong with hemispherical boss and raised central 

 area ; cast by cire-perdue process in Kuching. Diam. in front 

 33*9 cm., at back 30*1 cm. depth 7-8 cm. 



Catalogue No. 1208. [Pd. xii. 02]. 



Jour Straits Branch 



