The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Clay whistle

Noise whistle. Height 5.5 cm. Grey body, red painting on the tubular mouthpiece, polished. Late Postclassic (ca. 1350-5121 AD). Origin High Valley of Mexico. Uhde Collection. Noise pipes of the same type were found in sacrificial depots dedicated to Quetzalcoatl in Tlatelolco, Mexico City. The instruments were also built into the end of the handles of Aztec incense burners, which symbolise Xiuhcoatl ("fire snake"). The wind noise that can be produced on them was possibly associated with the cold obsidian knife winds of the underworld. In addition to skulls (mictlantecuhtli?), these instruments also depict owls, nocturnal animals associated with the underworld. (Adje Both, 2004)

This content was machine-translated
Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
Show only fields containing data

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Azteken
Object type
musical instruments
Dimensions
Objektmaß: 5,2 x 3,3 x 3,9 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 2621 u

Provenance and sources

when
Postclassical
where
Mexico
Central highlands
who
Azteken

who
Carl Adolf Uhde (1792-02-02 - 1856-11-17) - Collectors

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
This content was machine-translated
2.1.1 / 7.1.1