Do you think a museum is a quiet place? You may get a surprise if you visit Marischal Museum this summer! Silent Drums Beat is an exhibition of some of the spectacular drums from the museum's collection. Many are over a hundred years old. They have drummed for celebration, drummed for war; drummed to summon the people, drummed for dancing. These ghost drums can no longer beat but this is a far from silent exhibition- there is even a modern drum to try!
The exhibition includes drums from across the world, including Africa, China and India. The largest drum in the collection is the Slit Drum, which towers 6ft tall and is made from a hollowed out log which has been elaborately carved and painted. The Slit Drum dates from the late 19th century and would have been used in Melanasia for Ritual Ceremonies and long distance communication. Each adult tribe member would have had their own distinct rhythm so that if they were away from home they would recognise who the message was for.
Hilary Murray, Marischal Museum said: "We want this exhibition to put the sound back into these silent drums. There are such fantastic shapes I keep imaging the stories they could tell."
For further information, contact:
Hilary Murray, Marischal Museum tel: 01224 274305
Note to Editors
1. The exhibition opened at Marischal Museum on July 18 and will run until September 15. The Museum is open free to the public Monday to Friday 10am-5pm and on Sundays 2-5pm.
2. Marischal Museum lies in the University of Aberdeen's Marischal College, the second-largest granite structure in the world. The Museum - one of the oldest in Scotland - was founded in 1786, with material that has been donated by generations of friends and graduates of the University. This has resulted in collections of high quality material, most notably non-Western ethnography, Egyptian and Classical antiquities, Scottish prehistory and numismatics, that rank alongside the largest and most important in Scotland.
Visit: www.abdn.ac.uk/marischal_museum
Issued by Public Relations Office, External Relations, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen.
Tel: (01224) 272014 Fax: (01224) 272086. Contact: Emma Darling