A 20th Century example of a tradition laos rain drum cast in bronze. Three frogs (12 altogether) on top with a twelve pointed star with continuing concentric circle with stamp decoration. The side has two short vines with a feaf design. snails representing water and fertility.

A globular flared body rises with four attached handles of frog design. Circular concentric pattern continues throughout the top and body with a range of geometric shapes within each one. The patina is a complex pale verdigris to buff in color.
Used by the Karen people of Laos and northern Burma to bring out the rain clouds at the end of the dry season. The most powerful ritual object used by the Karen people of Burma and northern Thailand; its sound is believed to please spirits and attract rain.
These magnificent tables are known as rain drums for both the fertility images depicted in the design and for the unique sound they make when struck by the heavy monsoon rains of Southeast Asia. The drum shapes replicate huge bronze artifacts manufactured over thousands of years by the Dong-son civilization in Southeast Asia. A radiating raised sun pattern in the center of the drum head is surrounded by concentric rings of geometric pat terns moving toward the edge.

Age: 20th Century

Dimensions: 17” High x 34 1/2” Wide