Object Name: Drum
Place of Origin: Ghana
Cultural Group: Fante peoples
Materials Used: Wood, hide, pigment
Date: 1920
Dimensions: H: 94.0 cm, Diam: 58.0 cm (H: 37.0 in, Diam: 22.8 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Clayre and Jay Haft. X85.321

This instrument was once the “master”/”mother” drum of a Fante popular band. Each group was identified with a distinctive style of music and dance, much like popular bands in Euro-American traditions. The large female figure on the front of this drum represents Queen Victoria, whose image continued to play an active role in West African popular culture many years after her death.

Source: DjeDje, J. C. (1999). “Turn Up the Volume! A Celebration of African Music”, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. page 326