Strickland Fife: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This fife was made by Napolean Strickland in Como, Mississippi, in 1979. It is made of cane, with 4 fingerholes.

Napoleon Strickland (1919–2001), sometimes known as Napolian Strickland, was a fife and drum blues artist, and songwriter, and vocalist specializing in country blues, specifically North Mississippi hill country blues. He also played guitar, drums, harmonica, fife, and all manner of percussion instruments. Strickland made recordings for Arhoolie, Testament, Living Country Blues, and Venerable record labels.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: 1979
• Object Name: fife
• Physical Description: cane (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 14 5/16 in x 7/8 in; 36.35375 cm x 2.2225 cm
• place made: United States: Mississippi, Como
• ID Number: 1980.0043.03
• catalog number: 1980.0043.03
• accession number: 1980.0043
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.