Almost complete flute or whistle; missing right ear. Simple flute in the form of a quadruped. Small round head with short, perked-up ears, large round eyes made of clay pallets, and a long, pointy snout. Smooth, ovoid body, with four stumpy legs. The tail protrudes away from the body in a line with the animal’s spine; disproportionately large, especially when compared to the small head, it functions as the mouthpiece. In addition to the hole at the mouthpiece, this flute has a thumb hole under the tail, and a smaller finger hole at the chest, above the right foreleg. Should produce at least two distinct notes. Washed-out white ground, with red and black abstract cross-hatched decoration. If not abstract, design could be a stylized saddle with two bags hanging on either side. Mostly hollow. Mold-made head and body; handmade legs and tail.
5.3 × 3.7 × 7.6 cm (2 1/16 × 1 7/16 × 3 in.)
Molded, medium gray earthenware
2nd-1st century BCEChineseWire, toy soldiers, paint and two bones
20th centuryAmericanTerracotta
Egyptian?Lead-glazed funerary ware: molded brick-red earthenware with applique elements and much degraded lead-fluxed emerald-green glaze
1st-2nd century CEChineseBronze
20th centuryAmericanWood
20th centuryGermanMolded, medium gray earthenware with cold-painted pigments; localized areas with cold-painted pigments over white ground
6th centuryChineseGilt bronze with incised and repoussé decoration
14th centuryKoreanMixed copper alloy
Unidentified centuryUnidentified cultureTerracotta
4th century BCEGreekPlaster
4th century BCEGreekMarble
3rd millennium BCECycladic