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Costumed male effigy globular flute
Maya or Lenca
Late Classic eriod
A.D. 700–900
Object Place: Honduras, Ulúa Valley region
Medium/Technique
Earthenware: orange slip paint
Dimensions
9.8 x 8.6 cm (3 7/8 x 3 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Landon T. Clay
Accession Number1988.1220
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Musical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Aerophones
DescriptionMold-made, standing human male figure wearing a fish-like effigy headdress and holding two unidentified objects in each arm. The headdress elongates at the back to form the whistle's mouthpiece, and sound emerges from the resonance chamber (the figure's body) through a large opening in the figure's back.
ProvenanceBetween about 1974 and 1981, probably purchased in Guatemala by John B. Fulling (b. 1924 – d. 2005), The Art Collectors of November, Inc., Pompano Beach, FL; May 20, 1987, sold by John B. Fulling to Landon T. Clay, Boston; 1988, year-end gift of Landon Clay to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 25, 1989)
NOTE: This is one in a group of Maya artifacts (MFA accession nos. 1988.1169 – 1988.1299) known as the “November Collection” after John Fulling’s company, the Art Collectors of November, Inc. John Fulling sold this group of objects to MFA donor Landon Clay in 1987, and they were given to the Museum the following year.
Evidence suggests that John Fulling built the November Collection from sources in Guatemala between 1974 and 1981. Only a portion of what he acquired during this time came to the MFA in 1988. It is not possible to determine precisely which objects were acquired when or from whom.
NOTE: This is one in a group of Maya artifacts (MFA accession nos. 1988.1169 – 1988.1299) known as the “November Collection” after John Fulling’s company, the Art Collectors of November, Inc. John Fulling sold this group of objects to MFA donor Landon Clay in 1987, and they were given to the Museum the following year.
Evidence suggests that John Fulling built the November Collection from sources in Guatemala between 1974 and 1981. Only a portion of what he acquired during this time came to the MFA in 1988. It is not possible to determine precisely which objects were acquired when or from whom.