211.311-7 Single-skin frame drum with membrane nailed to drum

Salvation Army tambourine. Wooden shell with sixteen pairs of brass jingles (one pair missing).

The timbrel, or tamborine, has been associated with the Salvation Army since the early 1880s. It was pioneered by Captain Charles Rothwell who was stationed at Mansfield, Nottingham. Having seen an image of a woman playing a tambourine in the War Cry, the journal of the Salvation Army, he purchased one from a pawn shop, which his wife then played in processions. According to one report it "filled the devil with disgust, the newspapers with comments, the barracks with people and helped sinners into the fountain!" The success of the experiment led to the timbrel eventually becoming standard Salvation Army issue.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
M57-1991
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 60 x 295 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; hide; paint; metal
CATEGORY
Musical Instruments
LOCATION
SHAREABLE LINK

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Collection Information

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