Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 14. (Budapest, 1994)

KARDOS Tatjána: Bronzdob a Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum gyűjteményében

TATJANA KARDOS BRONZE DRUM IN THE COLLECTION OF THE FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EASTERN ASIATIC ARTS Since the end of 1940s there has been a bronze drum in the collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts. It is a small size drum: 27.6 cm high, the diameter of the tympanum is 50.6 cm. The tympanum does not overlap the resonance case, which extends close to it and becomes wider again at the centre and the lower part (ill. no. I.). The drum is decorated with a raised design. A twelve-ray star adorns the centre of the tympanum, with a heart-shaped motif between the rays of the star. The tympanum is divided into ten bends. The fifth, wider bend is decorated with a row of waving flags, the sixth one with twelve, slightly raised animals. The head of the animals are pointing to the centre. There is a row of buttons in the third and in the eighth bands. Decoration within the remaining bands consists of both stylized floral (lotus) and geometric designs: short parallel lines (rice plant design), and the pattern resembling the Chinese character hsi (xi, west) (ill. no. 2.). The same floral and geometric decorations are repeated in thirteen bands of the resonance case, completed with thunder pattern and with one more floral design. The lowest wide band consists a so-called hanging leaf pattern (ill. no. 3.) Two pairs of handles, with holes, decorated with twisted lines, are attached at either side of the resonance case. There are no frogs on the tympanum (ill. no. 1.). The drum is covered by multi-coloured patina, which in places has been filled the crevices of the design and has concealed it. The surface of the drum is covered with a network of raised defects in casting, which cannot be seen inside the resonance case. The raised decoration and the same kind of defects in casting indicate that a mould was used for casting.

1 The drum has been cast as a single piece, as there is no mark inside the drum revealing the soldering of the resonance case and tympanum, or of the resonance case itself. (The two vertical seams at the surface are purely decorative in function.) The inner side of the resonance case is not decorated,

2 the patina here has even green colour. The handles were cast separately, the joint is inaccurate, careless. Remains of soil can be seen on the drum. There is a similar drum in the collection of the Sechuan University Historical Museum, which has been published as the 25th drum by Wen You.

3 According to the description, this drum is decorated with bands of flags and twelve animals as well, the modelling is more elaborate than that of our drum. Unfortunately the rubbing is not clear enough for reproduction. According to Dr. Franz Heger's still used classification, separating four types of drums, the drum in the collection of Ferenc Hopp Museum can be classified as a Type IV drum (ill. no. 4.) In 1980 Chinese specialists introduced an eight-grade classification as an experiment. This kind of classification attempts to separate the different types of drums with consideration to the time and place they were used.