A SMALL BRONZE RAIN DRUM, DONG SON CULTURE, VIETNAM, CA. 500 BC TO 300 ADThe round drum with a spreading base, the bodyposed of straight sides below a bulbous section, finely cast with geometric designs and set with two pairs of loop handles on either side, surmounted by the slightly concave top. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown, solid patina with malachite encrustations.Provenance: An old private collection in France. Acher Eskenasy, Paris, France, acquired from the above in 2001. LP Collection Paris, France, acquired from the above. Acher Eskenasy is a noted French scholar and collector of Asian and tribal art. Major works previously owned by him are now in important collections and museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.Condition: Good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, dents, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations.Weight: 2,487 gDimensions: Height 15.8 cm, Diameter 19.9 cmDong Son (named for Dong Son, a village in Thanh Hoa, Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD. Vietnamese historians attribute it to the states of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, throughout the first millennium BC. The culture long remained a mystery to western archaeologists, and it was known only through its bronze objects, many of which were taken from burial sites. Dong Son bronze objects were exhibited in Europe for a century before their original location was even determined, and several theories and speculations over the dating methodologies of the culture continue to this day.Bronze rain drums were invented by the Dong Son culture and produced from about 600 BC or earlier until the third century AD. Ranging in height from a few inches to over six feet, up to four feet in diameter, and often of considerable weight, the drums are one of the culture's most astounding examples of metalworking. Examples produced in Vietnam, in addition to works made locally, have been found in south China and throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia. The discovery of Dong Son drums in New Guinea is seen as proof of trade connections – spanning at least a thousand years – between this region and the technologically advanced societies of Java and China.Bronze drums are still being used ceremoniously in Southeast Asia by the Yi people, Zhuang people, Miao people and Qabiao people in northern Vietnam and southern China. They are generally struck in the center with a soft mallet and on the side with a wood or bamboo stick. Among the ethnic Vietnamese, they are still used in some rituals, such as those of the Hung kings, but are rarely used as a musical instrument anymore. In Thailand, the Dong Son drum is also used in s