Pottery Rattle
Although numerous types of instruments survive from pre-conquest South and Central America, little is known of how they were used. Whistles, trumpets, and rattles in animal or human form probably had ceremonial functions or served as playthings. Smaller whistles in animal shapes, perhaps worn suspended from the neck, frequently have fingerholes that allow variation of pitch.
Artwork Details
- Title: Pottery Rattle
- Period: Late Postclassic (Pre-Columbian)
- Date: 1200–1521
- Geography: Mazapa, Texcoco District, Mexico
- Culture: Aztec
- Medium: Clay
- Dimensions: 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 in., 1.376oz. (4.4 × 4.4 × 4.4 cm, 39g)
- Classification: Idiophone-Shaken-rattle
- Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
- Object Number: 89.4.3460
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments
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