The object is a double-chambered ceramic vessel with two spouts connected by an incised bridge. The right-hand spout is topped by an avian effigy (figure 1). Where the effigy joins the spout there is a small aperture (figure 2). X-ray images confirm the presence of a whistle form inside the effigy (figure 3).
Figure 1. Whistling ceramic front view
Figure 2. Whistling ceramic front view detail: bridge and effigy
Figure 3. X-ray image taken at 110kV for 90s, showing whistle form inside avian effigy
The vessel has been interpreted as mould-made, due to the appearance of seams along the proper left and right edges (figure 4). These seams are low, suggesting that the junctions were suppressed by finishing with a thin clay wash. The avian effigy is of irregular shape and is perhaps hand-modelled, with the eye details added last.
Figure 4. Detail of slightly raised seam on proper right edge, shown in reflected light
The ceramic surface is black-grey in colour, suggesting the vessel was fired in a reducing atmosphere. The colouration of the vessel surface appears uneven, in particular where the chambers are marked at the back (figure 5). This is possibly the result of close contact with another vessel during firing.
Figure 5. Whistling ceramic back view detail: patchy surface colour on chambers
The vessel has been burnished using a tool, perhaps bone or a ceramic sherd, moving horizontally across the chambers and vertically up and down the spouts (figure 6).
Figure 6. Whistling ceramic detail: tool marks on the right-hand vessel chamber and spout, in particular along the join
The vessel was transferred from the Wellcome Collection to the UCL Ethnographic Collection as part of the ‘sixth instalment’ in 1951 (figures 7 & 8).
Figure 7. Correspondence from the Welcome Library Archives. Available at https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b18541343#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=9&z=-0.4523%2C0%2C1.9046%2C1.2125. Accessed 21/01/2019
Figure 8. Correspondence from the Welcome Library Archives. Available at https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b18541343# c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=10&z=-0.5582%2C-0.0674%2C2.1162%2C1.3472. Accessed 21/01/2019
It possess special intangible significance associated with sound: when air escapes through the whistle aperture a note can be produced. Ceramic wind instruments are still played in Andean cultures in relation to the agricultural year, particularly the coming of the rains. The vessel therefore has significance for living communities, ethnomusicologists and archaeologists interested in the phenomenology of sound.
The integrity of the vessel’s form suggests its previous function as a burial offering. X-ray images show fine cracks below the vessel surface where the spouts join the chambers, perhaps the result of lifting the vessel from the bridge (figure 9).
Figure 9. X-ray taken at 110kV for 90s, Todd Research Ltd. x-ray cabinet. The hairline cracks were not reproduced when scanned, and are best viewed over a light box. The object was x-rayed at maximum exposure strength. Further attempts might benefit from a longer exposure time, the use of flexible x-ray plates or a machine with a higher voltage.
Areas of abrasion on the vessel surface appear pale white-brown in colour with a slightly granular texture, and can be identified with the ceramic paste (figures 10 -14). Areas of accretion appear slightly browner in colour and sit on top of the black-grey surface and areas of abrasion. They have preferentially built up in recessed areas, such as the incised bridge (figure 14). A different sort of accretion appears at the join between the chambers. When coming into contact with the vessel it was perhaps slightly viscous, since there is more material towards the lower edge than at the top (figure 15).
Figure 10. Whistling ceramic detail: ceramic paste
Figure 11. Whistling ceramic detail: ceramic paste revealed by an area of loss. Taken with Dino-Lite Pro HR AM7000 / AD7000 series 5 megapixel, at x55.
Figure 12. Whistling ceramic detail: ceramic paste revealed by abrasion on effigy wings
Figure 13. Whistling ceramic detail: ceramic paste revealed by abrasion on effigy wings. Taken with Dino-Lite Pro HR AM7000 / AD7000 series 5 megapixel, at x55.
Figure 14. Whistling ceramic detail: pale ceramic paste revealed as the result of abrasion and light brown accretion on incised bridge. Taken with Dino-Lite Pro HR AM7000 / AD7000 series 5 megapixel, at x55.
Figure 15. Whistling ceramic detail: accretion on join between vessel chambers. Taken with Dino-Lite Pro HR AM7000 / AD7000 series 5 megapixel, at x55.
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