Whistling Jar
Although numerous pottery instruments survive from pre-Conquest South and Central America, little is known of how they were used before Spanish invaders ravaged the native cultures. Whistles, trumpets and rattles in animal or human form probably had ceremonial functions or served as playthings. The "whistling jar" is a 1- or 2-chambered vessel in which a whistle, often concealed by a bird's head, is sounded by blowing into the spout, or by pouring liquid from one chamber to the other to create a bird-like twittering sound. Smaller whistles in animal shapes, perhaps worn suspended from the neck, sometimes have fingerholes that allow variation of pitch.
Artwork Details
- Title: Whistling Jar
- Period: Late Intermediate (Chimu) (Pre-Columbian)
- Date: 1000–1476
- Geography: North Coast, Peru
- Culture: Chimu
- Medium: Mold-form clay
- Dimensions: 6 × 3 3/4 × 7 1/2 in., 2.374oz. (15.2 × 9.5 × 19.1 cm, 67.306g)
- Classification: Aerophone-Blow Hole-vessel flute
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 89.4.689
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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9350. Whistling Jar
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Peruvian
ca. 1000–1476
Peruvian
ca. 1000–1476
Native American (Peruvian)
late 19th century
Moche
200 BCE–600 CE
Moche
ca. 450–800
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