May 27, 2020 Founders & Patriots
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/27/2020
A very early, martial drum for field musick that, by its construction, probably dates it to the third quarter of the 18th century. The shell or body, which is 12 1/2 H x 13 1/2 inches in diameter as finished (exclusive of the heads and rims), is made of a steamed wood panel, lapped over approximately 4 inches and fastened by two rows of iron tacks spaced three inches apart. The sheepskin-covered heads appear original to the drum or are early replacements, while the lower rim is original and the upper rim a later (19th c.?) replacement. The hempen drum cords and most of the leather tension adjusters also appear to he original or very early replacements. The shell is painted a vermillion red, with black overpainting in three-inch intervals for a black and red, vertical striped pattern. The proper face of the drum shell has a device painted in its center, which appears to be a phoenix rising from the ashes, rendered principally in black on a vermillion ground, with two 8-pointed stars and clouds in the sky above, and flames and smoke below. Purchased by the consignor at an Essex County auction in the 1990s, this drum and its associated pair of sticks was stated to have been an estate consignment from a descendant of Samuel Bowdoin and was purportedly used by him while a drummer in Glover's 14th Continental Regiment. The drum likely predates the Revolutionary War and may have originally been used by a militia or minute company. CONDITION: The lower drum head is broken, thereby disrupting the rim positioning at present, while the upper head has a 3 inch slit near the rim that needs repair. The painted device has been partly obscured by wear over time, while the lower rim show excessive rim wear and loss to its black paint at those points, as to be expected. JLK CORRECTION: Title updated
he drum is illustrated and discussed on pp. 192-193 of "For Liberty I Live."