Mangbetu slit drum, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uele region. Presumed period: late 19th-early 20th century. Wood. H 77 cm. © Claes Gallery

Provenance: Edith Hafter (1911-2001), Solothurn, acquired before 1970; transmitted by descent

Note: This tulip-shaped slit drum is characteristic of the Mangbetu, Zande and Mamvu of the Uele region. Called ‘nedundu’, these instruments were played in groups as part of an orchestral ensemble including xylophones, gongs or rattles, during festivities or ritual ceremonies. This type of slit drum was sometimes played in pairs by a single musician. These prestigious sound tools were also given to high dignitaries by Mangbetu chiefs ‘to invest them with authority’. (Burssens, Mangbetu. Art de cour africain de collections privées belges, 1992, p. 24).

Almost the exclusive property of the local chiefs, these instruments produced a sound that had to carry very far in order to transmit messages to neighbouring villages. The instrument had to be large in order to be capable of sending drummed messages from the courtyard to distant villages.

This model is exceptional for its voluminous resonance box in the shape of a half-moon, slightly domed, with clean lines. On each side, a handle is sculpted into the body. The beauty of its abstract form makes this instrument a sculpture in its own right, carved from very hard wood, which has been blackened and meticulously patinated.