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Pahu

Drum (Pahu); The drum has a piece of sharkskin stretched across a hollow wooden cylinder, with zigzag lashing and a base of two rows of hanging loops. The interior is rough but the exterior is smooth and polished. The drum was originally accessioned as from Dr. George Turner, but it is not on his 1860 list of donations. It may be one of the 'two drums from the Sandwich Islands' mentioned in Captain John Laskey's 1813 account of the museum, and has been covered in black varnish, implying it was part of the Old Hunterian Collection, before 1870. It is possible that the drum may have come from one of the three Pacific voyages of Captain James Cook. Drawing courtesy of Wendy Arbeit. © Wendy Arbeit.

  • Date:
    1760 - 1800
  • Maker:
  • Collection:
    The Hunterian
  • Inventory number:
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  • Place of production:
    Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia
  • Culture:
  • Period:
  • Materials:
  • Specific materials/techniques:wood, shark skin, coir and fibre
  • Decorative elements:
  • Inscriptions:Mark REV: Old labels read "A drum from Otaheite", "HAWAII" and "E437".
  • Hornbostel-Sachs category:
  • Repository:The Hunterian