Antique Bronze Rain Drum

The rain drum gets it's name from the beautiful sounds it makes when being struck by the heavy monsoon rains of Southeast Asia. These drums are made of bronze and cast using an ancient lost-wax technique that allowed them to be sculpted with very great detail. Depending on where they are made, they go by different names. In Vietnam, they are called Dong Son Rain Drum after the the dynasty and location from which they were first found. In Thailand they are called Thai Bronze Rain Drum and in Laos they are called Laos Style Rain Drum. The oldest rain drums discovered were in the Vinh Phuc Province in Vietnam. These ancient rain drums have been dated from 1,500 B.C. It is also widely acknowledged that this form of art originated from China in the Yunnan Province up to 1,000 years earlier than the drums discovered in Vinh Phuc.