Shak Shak
Unknown Artist
late 19th century
Medium
gourd, pebbles
Dimensions
Diam. 8.7 x L. 5.9cm (3 7/16 x 2 5/16in.) 3" X 2 1/4" (in pencil) "L.C. says, 'L. 3 1/4 in. D. 2 1/4 in.'"
Classification
Idiophone-Shaken-rattle
Culture
Native American (Guyanese)
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
89.4.1505
Art Historical Context
The Shak Shak is a traditional shaken rattle, or idiophone, created by an unknown Native American artist from Guyana in the late 19th century. Crafted from a dried gourd filled with pebbles, this compact instrument measures just over three inches in diameter. Its simple yet resonant design allows the pebbles to strike the interior walls when shaken, producing a distinctive rhythmic sound used in ceremonial and communal music-making. This rattle entered the Metropolitan Museum’s collection in 1889 as part of the renowned Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments. At a time when many indig...