Klong mēng (ฆ้องเหม่ง)
Unknown Artist
late 19th century
Medium
Brass, wood
Dimensions
Gong: 14 × 11 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (35.6 × 28.6 × 5.7 cm) Beater: 7 1/4 × 1 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (18.4 × 3.8 × 3.8 cm)
Classification
Idiophone-Struck-gong
Culture
Thai
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
89.4.256
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments the *Klong mēng* (ฆ้องเหม่ง) is a captivating late 19th-century Thai that exemplifies the artistry of traditional Southeast Asian craftsmanship. Crafted from gleaming brass with a sturdy wooden beater, thisophone-struck instrument measures 14 × 11¼ × 2¼ inches for the gong itself, its shallow, bossed profile designed to produce a resonant, penetrating tone when struck. The accompanying beater, at 7¼ × 1½ × 1½ inches, allows for precise control, highlighting the meticulous balance of form and function in ...