Papua New Guinean Huon Gulf Drum: The Word "Kako" Inscribed

The snakeskin hangs loose down one side, like a coat someone forgot to finish putting on.

This Huon Gulf drum comes from Morobe, Papua New Guinea, in wood with a snakeskin head, and has the word Kako inscribed. Hourglass drums, widely known as kundu, are carried and played by dancers at ceremonial gatherings across Papua New Guinea, their head traditionally of lizard or snake skin. The waisted body is a deep reddish brown. A central band is thickly carved with leaf and chevron patterns, flanked by a plain loop handle and an openwork one. Twenty-nine inches high.

Mostly it asks to be picked up, which is reasonable.