We acquired this native American birch bark drum and mallet at an annual old west auction. We thought highly enough of it to bring it to our store and offer it as a listing. Everything on this is made from natural materials from the birch bark body of the Tom Tom, to the animal hide and sinew, to the string of shells and the turquoise pieces that adorn this piece. Well actually, there is some monofilament line to attached to some of the pieces so that's obviously not natural but everything else is. The mallet is quite ingenious in and of itself. It's a very straight Manzanita stick and stone and leather all crafted quite precisely. Whoever made this had quite a bit of skill because it's not something you would actually see in a regular store but perhaps maybe in a local native American shop or expo. Please keep in mind that this is a very small instrument, please see our pictures with the ruler references. As for age, it's a guess but we're thinking about the nineties. It's definitely not new.