SE Asian Bronze Dum

[MrBusiness]

I have this old bronze drum. The story was it was smuggled out of Laos after the revolution, supposedly "hundreds of years old", though that may be hyperbole. 



Does anybody have any information on these or how to vouch for it's authenticity. I can't seem to find much online, a few sites selling replicas, etc.  I found some information about Doc Song Dums (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Son_drums), I'm thinking this might be a later replica. 

Also, how would one care for an item like this? I get mixed information about polishing/waxing.  Just to want to keep it maintained. Looks like it is rusting or something. I'm thinking of putting a glass top over it and making it a table. 

[ironlord1963]

      Not the expert here but appears to be spun Bronze, something really early one would think it to be hammered, also look at what appears to be a seam, or look for any seams and look at how they are placed togeher for clues, something about this looks under 100 but not sure.

[MrBusiness]

Thanks for that. Yeah there does appear to be two seams down each side, cut in half.  Almost like a weld bead.  Perhaps an inside picture might help too.



I did find one page about them here: http://www.lasieexotique.com/mag_frogdrums/mag_frogdrums.html

I can see some similarities.





Backstory is it's my girlfriend's parents left her with this.  They brought it over in the early 70s I think they when they emigrated. Perhaps it might be a 50/60s colonial era replica.

[bigwull]

From that link that you posted...your,s look the same as the type 111 drum.....as for it being a repo, i don,t think it it...i think it is probably a genuine one...made in the countryside...and as it has been made using the lost wax method....there will be imperfections...suf fice to say this has not been spun/beaten....as for protecting it...well,it won,t rust?...it will age....which for bronze..is good,it would look great with a nice glass top,...just make sure you use toughened safety glass...

[mart]

Is the little light spot that shows in the first pics where the patina has been damaged ??  Not sure but if this were spun,, that would be done on a wheel or a lathe and there would be no side seams !!  I would guess its a casting !!  From what I see it looks 20th century !!  If that yellow color is whats behind the patina its probably a patinated brass rather than a bronze !!  The color looks more like a surface application to me !!  But could just be the pics !!

[greenacres]

mart, I thought that also. The seam bothered me too. I was thinking that bottles were blown and had no seams until machinery. Then it was pored in a mold hence a seam. It still could be from the late 1800's early 1900's. They had machinery then.

[MrBusiness]

Is the little light spot that shows in the first pics where the patina has been damaged ??  Not sure but if this were spun,, that would be done on a wheel or a lathe and there would be no side seams !!  I would guess its a casting !!  From what I see it looks 20th century !!  If that yellow color is whats behind the patina its probably a patinated brass rather than a bronze !!  The color looks more like a surface application to me !!  But could just be the pics !!

I was wondering if that was the original color, but your post prompted me to take a closer look.  I chipped away at it with my finger nail, then rubbed it down with a wet rag. Here is the before:



And after:



Looks like it scaped a wall during it's years in storage. 

I guess the question that remains is if it's pre-1890s Burmese origin from the karen tribe. Which I would suffice to say it's "original". Or if it's a later replication from the colonial period. I'm pretty sure I can trace ownership back to the 1970s atleast, so I don't think it is one of the more recent 1990s or 2000s replicas that are on the market. If it's pre-1890s this is pretty good shape, most of the one's i've seen on the internet have a green patina. 

[bigwull]

For this to have been "spun" on a lathe the lathe would have had to be the size of a house...this was definitely cast in a mould...i,d bet my boots on it,...if i had a pair....as for being patina,d brass....again...i doubt it it...
Commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and architectural bronze (57% copper, 3% lead, 40% zinc) are more properly regarded as brass alloys because they contain zinc as the main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in architectural applications


again you mention repo..."a Repo" from where....the only people out there doing repo,s are the Chinese...but no chinaman made this....enjoy it for what it is....

[mart]

I don`t think its a repro but I don`t think its that old either !!  More likely around mid century !!  As for the verdigris,, for an alloy that is mainly copper,, that is what I would expect to see to an extent but some bronze just gets darker mahogany color !!  A lot depend on the blend of metals !!  What bothers me about this piece is that what I see looks yellow in the scrapes which to me would indicate brass,, a metal that is common all over that area !! On a bronze item you would not be able to chip at it with the fingernail,, a surface application you possibly could depending on how it was done !!  Did it flake off ??

[bigwull]

your cheaters ain,t doing you any favours....brass my bum!! ...for centuries these have been made of bronze...and if you look at the pic of the underside you can just make out the copper like hue.....

[MrBusiness]

again you mention repo..."a Repo" from where....the only people out there doing repo,s are the Chinese...but no chinaman made this....enjoy it for what it is....

I'm getting a lot of history that these were originally mainly crafted by a tribe in between Burma and Laos, but the british raised their villages and production stopped, interest in these drums waned a bit for the first half of the 20th, then picked up later when the Americans became more involved. Then in the 90s tourists flooded the area looking for artifacts and souvenirs.