FIG. 7: Drum, kundu. Gulf province, Papua New Guinea. Late 19th century. Wood. H: 79 cm. Ex. coll. Alex Arthur, Brussels. © Fundación La Fontana, FI.1998.02.07. Photo: Alex Torguet. Such aesthetic and symbolic qualities formed the criteria by which the La Fontana Foundation’s instruments—acquired sometimes in the course of travels but more often on the international art market—were chosen. The same criteria were used for the selection for the display at the Museu de la Música. The result is an ensemble of works that includes not only classics in their genre, such as a Fang harp once owned by Georges de Miré (figs. 9 & 10) and a Tlingit rattle formerly in the George Terasaki Collection (fig. 6), but also great rarities, such as a drum with a looped handle in the shape of a bird’s beak from the Torricelli Mountains of Papua New Guinea (fig. 7). The sculptural qualities of the objects on display are enhanced by fine basing and mount making, although these do not necessarily present the instruments in the positions in which they would have been played. That might have been a more important consideration were it not for the fact that the objects’ aesthetic qualities are paramount here. This is further highlighted by the fact that some of the instruments are damaged or are missing elements such as strings, tuning pegs, membranes, etc., without which they are unplayable, yet no attempt has been made to restore them. FIG. 8: Drum, waku or wachu. Lake Sentani, Papua province, Indonesian New Guinea. Early 20th century. Wood, reptile skin, fiber. H: 75 cm. Ex Coll. Pierre Vérité, Paris; John and Marcia Friede, New York. © Fundación La Fontana, FI.2011.02.13. Photo: Manel Armengol.
XVII-4 Cover FR final_Cover
To see the actual publication please follow the link above