Paul S. Namkung World Drums Big Butt Christina Series IX Cajón #007714 – Handcrafted USA

Paul S. Namkung World Drums Big Butt Christina Series IX Cajón #007714 – Handcrafted USA

A beautiful and unusually elaborate Paul S. Namkung World Drums Big Butt Series cajón, handcrafted in the USA by noted New Mexico drum maker Paul Namkung. This example is identified in Paul's own handwriting as a World Drums Big Butt Series, Christina Series IX, serial number 007714. The Christina designation is especially noteworthy because it indicates that this instrument belongs to a distinct series within his handmade Big Butt production.

Namkung was an independent American percussion maker whose work was featured by the Percussive Arts Society and exhibited at juried art festivals around the country. His signature instrument was the wonderfully named Big Butt Cajón, a design he reportedly spent approximately two years developing and refining. Paul has passed on and no new instruments have been made since 2018,.

This example is especially striking.

The port face is constructed from multiple contrasting woods, with a highly figured central field bordered by dark hardwood and narrow light-colored stringers. The lighter body panels display attractive natural figuring of their own, and the smoothly rounded edges and glossy finish give the entire instrument the appearance of a piece of artisan furniture.

The instrument carries Paul Namkung's handwritten World Drums / Big Butt Series identification on the rear. The inscription also appears to identify it as part of his Christina Series, a documented limited-edition version of the Big Butt cajón. The original Paul S. Namkung / World Drums Drum Maker card shown in the photographs.

Namkung's Christina-series cajóns are documented among professional percussion equipment, and examples have appeared on the secondary market only occasionally.

Highlights

• Handcrafted by Paul S. Namkung
• World Drums
• Big Butt Series
• Christina-series maker inscription
• Made in the USA
• Dramatic figured and contrasting hardwood construction
• Rounded handcrafted cabinet edges
• Individually built artisan instrument rather than a production-line cajón

Paul Namkung's work occupies an interesting intersection between professional percussion instrument and American studio woodworking. This particular example is attractive enough to serve either as a working instrument or as a distinctive piece in a collection.

A scarce opportunity to acquire one of Namkung's handcrafted World Drums cajóns in especially attractive figured woods.

Condition: Please examine the photographs closely. The instrument presents extremely well, with minor evidence of age/use appropriate to a handcrafted percussion instrument. No attempt has been made to conceal its original maker markings or character.