The Akan Drum was made in West Africa and later found in the Colony of Virginia in North America. It is now one of the oldest African-American objects in the British Museum and may be one of the oldest surviving items in the world. The drum reminds people of the involvement of three continents in the transport of about twelve million people across the Atlantic Ocean during the slave trade. It is usually displayed in Room 26, the North American gallery, at the British Museum.

Description

The drum is made from two types of wood found in sub-Saharan Africa: Baphia and Cordia africana. Cordia africana is a fine-grained hardwood that is easy to carve and produces clear sounds, making it good for musical instruments. The drum's skin comes from a deer hide, which is stretched over the wooden frame using vegetable fibers.

Provenance

The drum was made in the Ghana region of West Africa between 1700 and 1745. It is believed to have traveled to America on a slave ship. Enslaved people were often captured in wars or taken from their homes, so they could not carry personal items. It is thought that the drum was brought by a crew member or by a son of an African chief who had sold enslaved people for transportation. Slave traders made enslaved people dance to show they were in control. This may explain why the drum was transported. The Akan term refers to the culture in present-day Ghana, which includes groups such as the Akwamu, Bono, Akyem, Fante, Asante, and Akuapem people.

This drum was obtained in Virginia by Rev. Clerk for Sir Hans Sloane, an Anglo-Irish scientist. Sloane had visited Jamaica and saw enslaved people playing musical instruments, some of which later became the banjo. He collected tools of slavery and other items, including this drum. Clerk and Sloane mistakenly believed the drum was made by Native Americans. Sloane’s collection became the foundation of the British Museum, which purchased it in 1753. The drum is still displayed there as part of the “Sloane collection.” Sloane’s records describe the drum as “a hollowed tree drum with the top held in place by pegs and thongs, and the bottom hollow from Virginia.”

In 1906, museum curators realized the drum could not have been made by Native Americans but must have come from Africa. In the 1970s, experts from Kew Gardens confirmed the wood used was grown in Africa. The drum is believed to have originally belonged to a musician in an African chief’s orchestra.

Importance

This is the oldest African-American object in the British Museum and was part of the museum’s collection when it first opened. The drum was chosen to be included in A History of the World in 100 Objects, a radio series that began in 2010 as a partnership between the BBC and the British Museum.

The drum was also the main object in a special display at the British Museum in 2010 titled From Africa to America: drumming, slavery, music. The exhibition explored how this drum was used in the "dance of the slaves" and how it represents the mixing of cultures caused by the slave trade, which later influenced music styles like jazz and rock and roll. Some slave owners did not know how to handle African music, and on certain plantations, drums were not allowed.

In September 2020, the Akan Drum was chosen to be highlighted in the British Museum’s Objects of Crisis series on YouTube. This series was created by former deputy chair of the Museum trustees, Bonnie Greer. The series, hosted by Hartwig Fischer, aimed to show how objects in the British Museum’s collection reflect how people in the past dealt with major challenges.