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Clay whistle

Noise whistle. Height 4.5 cm. Grey body, remains of white painting (engobe?). 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 serpent"). 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. What is striking about this piece is the application on both sides, possibly representing paper jewellery, and the teeth inserted into the nasal sheath, which indicates the close conceptual connection between smell and sound. (Adje Both, 2004)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Azteken
Object type
musical instruments
Dimensions
Objektmaß: 4,4 x 3,9 x 4,8 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 2621 v

Provenance and sources

when
Postclassical
where
Mexico
Central highlands
who
Azteken

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

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