Papua New Guinean Massim Drum, (Katunenia)

Long, lean and dark. A drum built for dancing, with a handle that wanted to be sculpture.

This Massim drum, called a katunenia, is from the Trobriand Island group in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, 20th century, made of wood and leather. Trobriand drums set the rhythm for dances and for community celebrations, including those associated with the yam harvest. The slender cylinder is dark and glossy, with a skin head at the top and a small white-filled circular motif. Alongside runs a carved handle, its ends covered in curling white-lined scrollwork. Twenty-seven inches tall.

Carved to be held, heard and, in passing, admired.