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A MONUMENTAL AND EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE RAIN DRUM, KAREN PEOPLE
奥地利
09月10日 下午5点 开拍 / 09月08日 下午3点 截止委托
拍品描述

Description

A MONUMENTAL AND EXTREMELY RARE BRONZE RAIN DRUM, KAREN PEOPLE
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

Expert’s note: This type of drum comes in various sizes with most ranging between 40 and 65 cm in diameter. The present lot is of exceptionally large size, possibly the largest of its kind, and must therefore be considered extremely rare.

Southeast Asia, first half of the 20th century or earlier. Finely cast, the flat top with concentric bands of stylized blossoms centered by a flower and petals, the rim lined by beaded and foliate bands and set with four elephants. The tapering body with further decorative bands and double strap handles above a procession of three elephants and two frogs descending towards the base.

Provenance: The Kienzle Family Collection, Stuttgart, Germany. Acquired between 1950 and 1985 by siblings Else (1912-2006), Reinhold (1917-2008), and Dr. Horst Kienzle (1924-2019), during their extensive travels in Asia. Subsequently inherited by Dr. Horst Kienzle and bequeathed to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, Germany. Released through museum deaccession in 2024. The Kienzle siblings were avid travelers and passionate collectors of Asian and Islamic art. During their travels, the Kienzle’s sought out and explored temples, monasteries, and markets, always trying to find the best pieces wherever they went, investing large sums of money and forging lasting relationships to ensure they could acquire them. Their fervor and success in this pursuit is not only demonstrated by their collection but further recorded in correspondences between Horst Kienzle and several noted dignitaries, businesses and individuals in Nepal and Ladakh. Their collection had gained renown by the 1970s, but the Kienzle’s stopped acquiring new pieces around 1985. Almost thirty years later, the collection was moved to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, opened by Peter Hardt in 2014. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter Hardt and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Good condition with expected old wear, casting irregularities, old soldering marks, small repairs, dents, small bruises, losses and minor warping. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustations.

Dimensions: Diameter 102 cm, Height 70.3 cm

This bronze rain drum is based on the drums created by the Dong Son culture in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. These drums were produced from about 600 BC or earlier until the third century AD and are one of the culture's most astounding examples of metalworking. The discovery of Dong Son drums in New Guinea is seen as proof of trade connections – spanning at least the past thousand years – between this region and the technologically advanced societies of Java and China.

The importance of these drums to the Karen meant that the master craftsmen of the Shan people had to undergo certain purification rites before a drum could be cast at a time predetermined by astrological calculations. On the day before, they were required to undergo a cleansing ritual to invoke spiritual guidance during casting. After bathing, they made offerings of fruit and candles, then slept undisturbed that evening. When they arrived at the foundry the following morning, a circle was marked out in which the casting was to be performed. Within this area the wearing of footwear was prohibited. Swearing and the consumption of intoxicants were also forbidden until the work was completed. In addition to the various sub-groups of Karen, buyers from Laos, Thailand and other regions used to converge on Ngwedaung at the end of the rainy season in October-November to purchase drums to sell to various tribal groups such as the Tsa Khamu. During the late 19th century, non-Karen hill people, attracted to the area by the prospect of work with British teak loggers, bought large numbers of Karen drums and transported them to Thailand and Laos. Consequently, their owners frequently incorrectly identify their drums as being indigenous to these countries.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2015, lot 1011
Price: USD 32,500 or approx. EUR 38,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Southeast Asian bronze rain drum, 18th/19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of casting, and decoration. Note the the size (52.6 cm).

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价格信息

拍品估价:5,000 - 10,000 欧元 起拍价格:2,600 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

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