Timpani, set of two (2)
Date1700 ca.
Place MadePrussia or Bavaria, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsnone
DescriptionCopper bowl, animal-skin head fastened with iron rim and 6 iron nuts and bolts for tuning, iron stand, copper resonating funnel (Schalltrichter).
The small size of this pair of timpani suggests that they were intended for indoor playing. The resonating funnel, possibly a later addition, was an attempt to overcome the unfocussed sound of kettledrums, an idea introduced in the 1730s.
DimensionsHead diameter:
7448a: 456 mm
7448b: 457 mm
ProvenanceBy 1980, owned by Henry Potter & Co., London, England. Sold as part of a group of military drums to a private owner, England. By 2000, purchased by Tony Bingham, London, England, who sold them to the National Music Museum.
Published ReferencesDobney, Jayson. “Historic Timpany at the National Music Museum,” Percussion Notes 12, April 2007.
Klaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 1: Instruments of the Single Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2012), pp. 246–47, 271.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2000
Object number07448
On View
On view
1785-1815 ca.
1890 ca.
1950-1965 ca.
1940-1960 ca.