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.)
Lead-glazed ware: molded, brick-red earthenware with degraded, opalescent, emerald-green, lead-fluxed glaze
1st-2nd century CEChineseWood
17th centuryGermanMarble
3rd millennium BCEAnatolianTerracotta
4th-1st century BCEGreekIvory
18th centuryAustrianGilt bronze
18th centuryTibetanMolded, white earthenware with cold-painted black pigment
7th-8th centuryChineseWood box containing various archival materials
21st centuryPortugueseGilt bronze, on ebonized wood socle
17th centuryItalianPlaster
20th centuryMinoanCast bronze with cold-worked elements
5th-6th centuryChineseBronze
19th-20th centuryAmerican