Rattle

Unknown

late 19th century · Wicker, ribbon reed · Musical Instruments

Large mace-shaped rattle. Instruments made of sonorous materials (idiophones) comprises the largest and most widespread type in sub-Sahara Africa. Names of identical instruments change from region to region. Some instruments and the music linked to them have traveled beyond the African homeland to North and South America and the Caribbean. Idiophones are sounded by shaking (rattle, sistrums), beating together (iron clappers), or striking (xylophones, slit gongs, bells). they reinforce the rhythmic foundation of a piece, provide a melodic line, signal by imitating spoken languages, or perform rhythmic, melodic and communicative roles simultaneously.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th century

Medium

Wicker, ribbon reed

Culture

Congolese (Ngala people?)

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889