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Metallophone (gong kemodhong)
1840
Object Place: Central Java, Indonesia
Medium/Technique
Teak, bronze, earthenware
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Mr. and Mrs. Bradford M. Endicott and Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Fraser in honor of Jan and Suzanne Fontein, and the Frank B. Bemis Fund
Accession Number1990.555a-e
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsMusical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Idiophones
DescriptionRectangular red painted wood case with two compartments to hold two earthenware resonator jugs. Slab gongs, in the form of bronze flat keys with central knob, are suspended over each resonator by new red cotton cord threaded through holes in the gongs and tied to the corner and central finials of the case. Fragments of red leather tacked to the upper edges of the case imply that the top was once covered to conceal the resonators. (slendro tuning)
Provenance1840, slendro-tuned ensemble commissioned by Chinese patron, Central Java. After 1840, Priyo family, the Bupati (regent) of Blora, Central Java; about 1876, pelog-tuned ensemble commissioned and combined with 1840s ensemble, Central Java; by 1990, by descent through three generations of the Priyo family to Mr. and Mrs. Supriyo, Blora, Central Java, Indonesia; July 12, 1990, sold by Supriyo to Nyonya Nora, Surakarta, Indonesia; 1990, sold by Nyonya Nora to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 24, 1990)