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.)
Terracotta
RomanDehua ware (so-called "Blanc de Chine"): molded porcelain with ivory-hued glaze; with underglaze four-character seal mark impressed into the back
18th-19th centuryChineseWhite biscuit
18th centuryBritishBronze
4th century BCEEtruscanLimestone, biosparite
14th centuryFrenchPlaster
19th centuryItalianWood; cinnabar-red pigment applied to the background; bow-and-arrow of thin metal wire
13th centuryJapaneseLimestone, oosparite
14th-15th centuryFrenchCast bronze; style of Angkor Thom
12th centuryKhmer
Bulbs in plastic bag, fastened in box
20th centuryGermanSteatite or chlorite
8th-7th century BCESyrian