Collection record · Objects & craft
Whistle
The collection record classifies this work as musical instrument. It is dated late 1800s. Recorded culture or place: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola, Chokwe-style maker.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Whistle
- Date
- late 1800s
- Culture / origin
- Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Angola, Chokwe-style maker
- Materials and technique
- Probably hippopotamus ivory
- Dimensions
- Overall: 5.7 x 3.2 cm (2 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1915.442
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Carved out of ivory or wood in a variety of shapes, Chokwe whistles often bear miniature, stylized renderings of masks. Cikunza, the "patron saint" of the boys' initiation into manhood, is depicted with a pointed extension imitating the horn of a road antelope, symbolizing the fertility spirit. Typically such whistles were used by men during the hunt to communicate with their co-hunters and to call their dogs. They were either worn attached to a string as a necklace or tied to a spear.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Educational Purchase Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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