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Kit of six pairs of Percussion Bones (clappers)

19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 681
Enslaved Africans on plantations in the Americas were forbidden from playing drums, as authorities feared they would be used for communicating and fomenting rebellion. The enslaved communities turned to other small forms of percussion instruments including bones and tambourine to provide rhythmic accompaniment for singing and dancing. The bones were later used by White musicians who appropriated instruments and music from Black communities, creating minstrel music in the middle of the nineteenth century.

This set of six bones includes two sets made from animal bones and four sets made of ebony all kept in a small sewing box. Troupes of both White and Black minstrel musicians toured the country and even internationally and it is likely that a set such of this would have been used by musician in such an ensemble.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kit of six pairs of Percussion Bones (clappers)
  • Period: 19th Century
  • Date: 19th century
  • Geography: United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Ebony, bone, various woods
  • Dimensions: Six sets of bone clappers of various lengths from 5 inches to 7 ½ inches.
    Box 8 ½ in. Length by 3 ¼ in. Width x 2 ¾ in. Depth
  • Classification: Musical instruments
  • Credit Line: Peter Szego, 2024
  • Object Number: 2024.607.5
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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