19th Century Taos Drum

Taos Possiblu Cochiti

Circa 1880 | Cottonwood, Hide, Pigment | Item 1907

It is rare to come across a 19th century Pueblo drum. This one is likely Taos, but could as well be Cochiti. It measures just under 13″ tall and has a rich and warm patina. This is, in part, due to the natural pigments used to achieve the rust red and soft yellow tones. The cottonwood surface shows adze marks from shaping the wood when it was made. Both ends show wonderful wear. One end has an old repair to the beating surface, stitches seen where the cut is fixed. There is a set of initials carved into the hide just off of the beating side and on the shoulder of the rim – D.R.. It is not known what this means, whether it was the maker (unlikely), one of it’s drummers (also unlikely) or a person early on that owned the drum after it left the Pueblo (most likely)? The drum still makes a very satisfying sound when beat.