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Miniature Drum with Four Frogs

ca. 500 BCE–300 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 244
Ranging in height from a few inches to over six feet, up to four feet in diameter, and often of considerable weight, drums are the most widely dispersed products of the Dongson culture of northern Vietnam. Examples produced in Vietnam, in addition to works made locally, have been found in south China and throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia. The function of these drums, often found in burials, remains unclear. They may have been used in warfare, as political regalia, or as part of funerary and other ceremonial rites.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Miniature Drum with Four Frogs
  • Period: Bronze and Iron Age period, Dongson culture
  • Date: ca. 500 BCE–300 CE
  • Culture: Vietnam
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: H. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998
  • Object Number: 2000.284.57
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Miniature Drum with Four Frogs - Vietnam - Bronze and Iron Age period, Dongson culture - The Metropolitan Museum of Art