Drum
- Gallery: Room 24
- Made in: Saibai
- Date: 1886 (before)
- Object type: drum
- Materials: kou wood (Cordia subcordata); lizard skin; cassowary feather; seed (goa nut); lime
- Museum number: Oc,+.3401
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a drum created by the Saibai people from the Torres Strait region. This drum, known as a "warup," has an hourglass shape made from kou wood and covered with lizard skin. It is adorned with intricate carvings and engravings of human figures, animals, and a crocodile that includes its footprints.
The drum shows remarkable artistry, with designs filled in lime and featuring a range of figures, such as dogs, turtles, and cassowaries. At the open end, cassowary feathers are attached, and a red cross is marked on the lizard skin face. The design reflects a mix of traditional and possibly new influences, such as the stylized faces thought to be inspired by foreign postage stamps.
This drum was made specifically for Reverend S. Macfarlane shortly before he left Torres Strait. Collected in 1886, it is a striking example of the creativity and cultural expression of the Torres Strait Islander people.
See it in person
Drum is on display in Room 24 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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