Slit drum with handle in the shape of a lion

Slit bronze drums like this one were modeled after large wooden drums of the same shape. Wooden drums carved out of the trunks of large trees and hung in pavilions in village centers served as important means of communication between villages throughout Indonesia. Though modeled after the wooden ones, the bronze drums probably had some kind of ceremonial rather than utilitarian purpose. Similar drums have been found in caches that contained ritual paraphernalia.

The body of this drum is decorated with geometric and floral motifs. It is topped with a rearing lion bearing the year 1324 on its chest.