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Friction Drum (Lunet or Livika)

late 19th–early 20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684
In northern New Ireland, wooden drums known as lunet were used as musical instruments during malagan ceremonies, elaborate feasts that honored the dead. In contrast to the complex funerary carvings displayed during these ceremonies, drums were neither painted nor adorned with intricate designs. Instead, they were unique in their simplicity of form, and their decoration was limited to a series of carved, almond-shaped eyes inset with opercula, the calcified "doors" that originally covered the openings of snail shells.

Lunet were "friction drums" with three sound-producing wedges (or "tongues") on top. These wedges, each cut to a different size, separated from each other and have small spaces hollowed out underneath. A musician would have played the drum by moistening one of his hands with water and rubbing it across the wedges, creating a unique blend of tones reminiscent of the cry of the bird for which the drum was named.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Friction Drum (Lunet or Livika)
  • Date: late 19th–early 20th century
  • Geography: Papua New Guinea, New Ireland
  • Culture: Northern New Ireland
  • Medium: Wood, shell
  • Dimensions: H. 9 1/4 x W. 20 x D. 8 1/4 in. (23.5 x 50.8 x 21 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Musical Instruments
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.1477
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

Audio

Cover Image for 1770. Friction Drum (Lunet or Livika)

1770. Friction Drum (Lunet or Livika)

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More Artwork

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Friction Drum (Lunet, Livika or Kule Paganeg), Wood, stain, Melanesian (New Ireland, Papua New Guinean)
Friction Drum (Lunet, Livika or Kule Paganeg)
Melanesian (New Ireland, Papua New Guinean)
late 19th century
Pendant or Head Ornament (Kapkap), Tridacna shell, turtle shell, fiber, New Ireland
Pendant or Head Ornament (Kapkap)
New Ireland
late 19th–early 20th century
Funerary Carving (Malagan), Wood, paint, shell, Northern New Ireland
Funerary Carving (Malagan)
Northern New Ireland
late 19th–early 20th century
Funerary Carving (Malagan), Wood, paint, shell, beads, Northern New Ireland
Funerary Carving (Malagan)
Northern New Ireland
late 19th–early 20th century
Funerary Carving (Malagan), Wood, paint, shell, resin, Northern New Ireland
Funerary Carving (Malagan)
Northern New Ireland
late 19th–early 20th century

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