Snare drum, Egyptian Forces, 1883-1896

Drum, copper, steel and gut, probably of French manufacture.

This drum appears to have been captured by Mahdist forces when they annihilated Hicks Pasha's Egyptian force at the Kashgal (Shaykan) in November 1883, during the 1st Sudan War (1883-1885). It was later recovered from the Mahdist commander Wad Bishara, during the Dongola Expedition of 1896.

Snare drums, also known as side drums, were used to communicate orders and signal troop movement on the battlefield, because the piercing sounds they produced could cut through the noise.