Drum with Bird Frames and Tiger Base

Of the musical instruments used in the imperial court of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, bronze chime-bells and stone chimes are the major pieces, but drums are also important instruments. One of the drums is a drum with bird frames and tiger base.

The drum with bird frames and tiger base has a history of over 2,200 years and often found in the tombs of aristocrats of the Chu State. It's a musical instrument unique to the Chu culture. The first drum of such type was excavated from the No. 1 Wangshan Tomb of the Chu State in Jingzhou City of China's Hubei Province in 1963. Afterwards, drums of the same type were successively found in other tombs of the Chu State.

The drum with bird frames and tiger base is ingeniously designed. The base of the drum is two crouching tigers with raised heads and curled tails. And a singing phoenix stands on the back of each tiger. A big drum is tied to the phoenix crowns with red ropes and placed between the two phoenixes. The whole instrument is a wood sculpture, coated with black paint as the background. Tiger stripes and phoenix feathers are painted with red, yellow, golden, blue and other colors. The images are lifelike and brightly colored. The drum is not only a musical instrument, but also an artistic masterpiece.

In this work of ark featuring both tigers and phoenixes, the phoenixes are dignified and imposing, while the tigers are crouching and cowering. This reflects the phoenix worship of the Chu people, hoping for peace and wishing to conquer ferocious beasts with fearless spirit.