Punu Drum, Gabon

Alain Schoffel, Paris, by 1977
Lee and Dona Bronson, Los Angeles
Marc Bronson, Los Angeles, acquired from the above
Michael Sorafine, Los Angeles
Acquired by the present owner from the above on February 12, 1988

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, Gallery 42 installation, November 15, 1990 - March 31, 1992
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, Poets in the Galleries, Spring 1992
Stanford University Museum of Art, Stanford, Pablo Picasso, April 13 - June 18, 1993

Bertil Soderberg, “Les Instruments de musique africains et leurs decorations”, Arts d’Afrique Noire, No. 24, Winter 1977, p. 24
Bronson, Rollins & Associates, Inc. (adv.), African Arts, Vol. XX, no. 3, May 1987, p. 8
M.H. De Young Memorial Museum (ed.), Poets in the Galleries (exhibition brochure), Spring 1992
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Friends of African Art Folio, Winter 2004, p. 3

Good condition for an object of this age and extremely rare type. Marks, nicks, scratches, abrasions, and small chips consistent with age and use. Two minor vertical age cracks to bottom register of drum: one of about 4 inches running up from bottom, one 5 inches running up from bottom. Age crack running the full height of the drum through proper left side of one of the faces. Minor scattered worm holes. Small losses from insect damage to bottom edge. One cavity from insect damage, about 3/4 of an inch, to lowermost band of geometric decoration on one side. Membrane on top of drum dry with some cracking and small losses. Fine aged surface with black, red, and white pigment. Spot of mud remains of an insect nest on one side. Fixed to modern wood base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A Rare Punu "Masked" Drum

Drums, and especially those of cylindrical form stretched with a resonant membrane, animate traditional rituals and celebrations throughout the cultures of sub-Saharan Africa.  These musical instruments, known as “membranophones”, are found in a wide range of sizes, including those which are small and portable, like this Punu drum from southern Gabon.  Based upon its size, we can infer that the present drum was played by a drummer sitting or squatting on the floor, striking it with both hands, one with the palm and the other with the fingers.

What is extraordinary about this type of drum, which is of a remarkably refined quality and extremely rare (see Siroto 1995: 46, no. 46 for the only other known example), is the anthropomorphic decoration on the wooden cylinder below the attachments for fastening the skin membrane.  This consists of several polychrome faces, carved in high relief, recalling the famous Okuyi masks for which the Punu are well-known (see Perrois and Grand-Dufay 2008).  This drum was used during the same occasion of the display of the Okuyi masks which were worn by dancers perched on stilts (see ibid.: 33, fig. 4 and 37, fig. 5 for 19^th century prints showing this ceremony).

In terms of their morphology, the faces, which are smaller than those seen on the dance masks, show an elegant, graceful quality.  Each features a broad, ocher forehead, arched eyebrows and large, hollow orbits with “coffee bean” eyes split laterally, thin noses, and mouths with full, red-tinted lips contrasting against the white kaolin.  The beginning of the coiffure, with large, plaited braids arranged on either side of a central part, recalls those on the Punu-Lumbu Okuyi masks (see ibid.: pls. 30-32).  Note that Punu women still wear this type of cap today (see ibid.: 64, fig. 16).  The faces, essentially arranged in pairs fused at the ears, emerge from a ground decorated with incised grooves arranged in two bands of pattern: a ground of chevron design and a band of lattice below.

The Punu and Lumbu of southern Gabon, in the regions of Mouila, Ndendé, and Tchibanga, created not only the famous masks evoking a female spirit returned from the realm of the dead (Okuyi), but also many other portable objects incorporating the same symbol, sometimes seen as a round head on the end of a handle, or simply as a face in relief, or as a miniature sculpture.  Objects bearing such iconography include talismans, hunting charms, bellows, spoons, ceremonial scepters, shutters and doors, jewelry, and musical instruments such as harps, pluriarcs, and drums.  Indeed, in the world of Okuyi belief, these spiritual mediators represent some of the most palpable expressions of the permanent relationship between the realms of the living and the dead, as demonstrated by the symbols which appear on these implements of daily life.

Dr. Louis Perrois
March 2013