Flute/Whistle

Colima Whistle - Early Drummer Figure

Colima Mexico
Pre-Columbian

ca. 200 B.C. – 200 A.D.

Height: 4.25 inches; Width: 2.25 inches

Early Colima figure whistle depicts a male playing a drum. He is rendered in what is known as the Archaic style for earlier Colima figures, with circular, disc-like eyes, pinched nose and gently curved limbs. He is shown wearing arm/elbow bands/pads and elaborate headgear with a chin strap. Such arm padding and head protection typically suggests a warrior or ballplayer status for the individual. In this case, he is shown with hands resting on a drum, as if in the act of playing during a ceremony, ritual or other event. The whistle is incorporated into the piece from the top and back of the head. There are faint remnants of black striped decoration on the body of the drum and elsewhere on the figure. Provenance: Former M. Frederick collection, Kentucky, USA.

Owner:
Catalog#: HWMC

Reference: See the book “Little People of the Earth; Ceramic Figures from Ancient America” pages 37-38 for comparable examples of the type.

© Hartenberger World Music Collection