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Internationally and across history, societies have created items of cultural significance that produce sound, these sounds with their own significance. From plucked and bowed stringed instruments to bells to drums, there is great variety in these sound producing works, variety in their design, the sounds they produce, how they produce these sounds, and most interestingly, their purpose in culture. Among these purposes are communication, symbolism in religious rituals or ceremonies, or just producing music for entertainment. The one thing every one of these works has in common, however, is their significance.
Every work is meaningful to the people that created it.
I centered this exhibit around the theme of sound because sound producing devices not only are a type of artwork that is utilized as a tool, but produces something unique that is it’s own work of art; music. From the otherworldly whistle of a Tibetan conch shell, to the less foreign strum of a cittern, every sound has the ability to move us just as the physical beauty of the work itself does.
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The exhibition is organized by the cultural function of the artifact, with one side of the room representing objects used for ritualistic, ceremonial, or religious purpose, the opposite side representing objects used for entertainment purpose, and objects themselves arranged along this spectrum depending on which purpose they served more. This is done to highlight both the wide range of usages these artifacts served in societies and that many served multiple purposes. Next to each work will be a stand with the label on it, and next to the label, a button that the viewer can press to hear a sample of what the instrument sounds like.
The label will also include a map showing where in the world the culture that the work belongs to is located.
Featuring beautiful sound producing works from every corner of the world, the exhibition will help the viewer understand the deep significance that these devices had to the cultures that created them, as well as the similarities and differences between the sounds and meanings generated across cultures. Additionally the viewer will learn important ways that sound and music were utilized beyond just entertainment.
The exhibit also highlights the visual artistry of each device, as all of them are more than just a way to generate sound. From religious symbolism to extravagant patterns, each work has much to see about the society that spawned it.
Drum. Culture: Senufo Peoples. Material: Wood and hide. Dimensions: 41 ½ x 18 ½ x 18 ½ in.
Description: This tall drum of the Senufo culture, located in west Africa, functioned as both a musical instrument and a means of communication in the form of public announcements. Different rhythms played on drums signified the start of different activities in the village, such as preparation of fields for planting, coming-of-age rituals, and funerals. Additionally, the drums, as well as other Senufo instruments, were used to play background music for a hoeing competition between young village farmers. The music played at competitions was accompanied by singing which encouraged the competition with lyrics of praise for the hoeing men’s efforts. Like all Senufo art, the drum was made by a specialized artisan.
The drum is constructed from wood, with hide on the top. Around the wooden base of the drum are bas relief carvings of different imagery symbolic to the Senufo. These carvings include a snake between two birds, which carried messages to and from the spirit world; a giant lizard that symbolizes destruction; a turtle that symbolizes water and creation; shackles that a reference to Senufo villagers captured during Islamic Jihads in the 19th century; and a face mask of a secret society. Closer to the base of the drum are carvings of horns, which in Senufo villages contained medicines meant to heal the body and spirit. The base itself is four human-like bent legs which is a reference to a particular ceremony the drum is utilized in where the drum is held by Senufo women.
Trumpet. Culture: Paracas. Material: Ceramic and resin-suspended paint. Dimensions: 55 3/8 x 5 ¾ x 5 ¾ in.
Description: This trumpet an instrument of the Paracas culture, an ancient group that was located in what is now southern Peru. Paracas instruments are rare, though most likely music played a part in their religious festivals, and this trumpet likely was played at celebrations. Due to its extreme length, it’s suspected that either an extra person or a brace of some kind was utilized to support it when played.
The style of the trumpet follows the characteristics of traditional Paraca pottery. The clay used to create the trumpet was coiled into a long shaft with the open bell at one end. The figure seen on the bell of the trumpet was then incised into the clay. This sort of incised geometric design was very common in Paraca pottery. The clay was then fired, and afterwards painted with resin paints. The fact that the incised design was painted post-firing suggests that this trumpet was created by a middle or late Paraca civilization, as early Paraca pottery typically did not have post-fire paint. The figure that was incised on the bell shares attributes with a Paracan mythical creature known as the Oculate Being. The oculate being is a supernatural being that may have been worshipped by a Paracan fertility cult. The key characteristics are the large eyes that contain multiple circles, and the long serpents that come from the head. The fact that the head is disproportionately large suggests that it may represent a mask of the being, rather than the being itself, however it’s this depiction that most strongly supports the idea that the trumpet was relevant religiously.
Conch Shell. Culture: Tibet. Material: Shell, silver, coral, turquoise, silk, and jade. Dimensions: 30 ½ x 9 ¼ x 6 in.
Description: This white conch shell, known as a Dung Dkar, decorated with beads, ribbons, silver, and gemstones, is a musical instrument of Tibetan Buddhism, primarily used for rituals. This conch shell may have been used in initiations of Buddhist monks. The shell is used as a trumpet and when blown into produces a loud, usually shrill, otherworldly sound.
In relief on the silver mount of the shell there are depictions of bodhisattvas, which is a Sanskrit term for someone who has obtained enlightenment but postpones their journey to nirvana in order to help others reach alignment. There are relief depictions of other Buddhist holy figures in addition to these bodhisattvas. There are also gemstones inlaid into the silver mount in the image of all eight ashtamangala, which are auspicious symbols in Tibetan Buddhism. These symbols have some commonly accepted interpretations though may be interpreted differently by different teachers. The ashtamangala depicted on the conch, from left to right, top to bottom, are the dharmachakra, or wheel of law, which represents Buddha himself; the vase, which represents longevity and prosperity; the conch, which represents the sound of the dharma, or cosmic law and order; the victory banner, which represents Buddha’s victory over the four obstacles on the path to enlightenment; the fish, which represents fearlessness; the lotus flower, which represents purity; the parasol, which represents protection from illness and the endless knot, which represent unity, and more specifically the union of wisdom and compassion.
Sō Sām Sāi. Culture: Thai. Material: Coconut, skin, ivory, mother-of-pearl. Dimensions: 46 1/16 x 6 ½ in.
Description: The Sō Sām Sāi (or Saw Sam Sai) is a stringed instrument from Thailand. It’s played upright with the spike at the bottom resting on the ground. It can be played solo but is often used in one of three types of Thai ensemble known as a Mahori ensemble. Originally, a Mahori ensemble consisted of four members, a saw sam sai, another stringed instrument called a krajappi, a percussion instrument called a thon, and a singer who was also tasked with keeping time using a percussion instrument called a krap phuang. This type of ensemble that the Saw Sam Sai is an important part of has now evolved to into three different, larger, categories which feature many other Thai instruments with the Saw Sam Sai.
The main body consists of half of a coconut with three bulges on the back in a triangular fashion. This halved coconut is what functions as a resonance chamber and the triangular bulge was consistent across Saw Sam Sai construction, a requirement. This shape when viewed from the back (where the bulges are) represented the head of an elephant, and the ivory spike, the elephant’s trunk. The front of the base is covered by buffalo parchment and the bridge upon it is movable. The spike, neck and pegs are constructed from ivory, and the three silk strings of the instrument are attached internally to the pegs. Additionally, the neck is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The neck does not have frets, so it is played with a bow rather than by plucking the strings.
Cittern. Maker: Joachim Tielke (German, 1641-1719). Culture: German. Material: Cypress, ivory, ebony, parchment, brass. Dimensions: 24 7/8 c 9 5/16
Description: The cittern is a plucked stringed instrument, related to the guitar, but with differences in composition of strings and frets. It was primarily a folk instrument and is still used in traditional music, but in the sixteenth and seventeenth century was deemed an art instrument by aristocrats. It is likely an aristocrat owned this elaborate cittern.
The bell shape of this particular cittern was a specialty of Hamburg, Germany, and is referred to as the hamburger cinthrinchen. The cittern was popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and there are many from the era that have survived, however the Hamburg style of cittern is now rare and the hamburger cinthrinchen was fashionable for only a brief period of time. This cittern is decorated with ebony on ivory, and the base has three pieces of parchment, placed over the sound holes, decorated with green pigment. At the top of the instrument is a carving of the head of a Moorish king. Contrary to its relatives, the lutes and guitars, the cittern has metal strings, which create both a brighter and louder sound. It also has metal frets, inlaid into the fretboard, similar to modern guitars. The cittern was crafted me Joachim Tielke, a seventeenth century craftsman who’s instruments are renowned for gorgeous and elaborate decoration. These hamburger cinthrinchen are often crafted in complementary pairs, one with ebony black decoration on white ivory ground, and one reversed. This cittern is no exception and its’ mate is in a museum in Germany.
Exhibition of Sound Producing Devices. (2022, Mar 25). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/exhibition-of-sound-producing-devices-essay
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