Antique Chimù-Inca Style Tribal Double Barrel Clay Whistling Vessel

Description

Antique Chimù-Inca Style Double Barrel Clay Whistling Vessel. Front barrel of a person that appears to be pregnant with a … more Antique Chimù-Inca Style Double Barrel Clay Whistling Vessel. Front barrel of a person that appears to be pregnant with a baby at the foot of the figure. Burnished black exterior with dirt embedded in the creases. In good condition, with wear consistent with age. A small chip to the left ear of the figure.

Size: 9 x 6.75 x 4.5 in

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. less