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Duct whistle (sk-a'na)
Native American, Haida
before 1883
Object Place: British Columbia, Canada, Queen Charlotte Islands
Medium/Technique
Red cedar (?), spruce root
Dimensions
Length 38.5 cm, width 8.8 cm, thickness 8 cm (Length 15 3/16 in., width 3 7/16 in., thickness 3 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Leslie Lindsey Mason Collection
Accession Number17.2202
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Musical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments – Aerophones
DescriptionBottle-shaped body (of roughly semi-circular cross section) constructed of two hollowed out halves of red cedar (?), bound with twine near proximal end and at center and with split spruce root near distal end. Distal end closed. Seams sealed with pitch. Rectangular window with two lips (but only one note sounds). Rectangular embouchure hole. Sounds pitch of a.
ProvenanceBy 1903, Francis W. Galpin (b. 1858 - d. 1945), Hatfield Regis, England [see note]; 1916, sold by Francis W. Galpin to William Lindsey (b. 1858 - d. 1922), Boston; 1916, gift of William Lindsey to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 5, 1916)
NOTE: F. W. Galpin, "The Whistles and Reed Instruments of the American Indians of the North-West Coast," Proceedings of the Musical Association, 29th sess. (1902-1903): pl. I, fig. 1a.
NOTE: F. W. Galpin, "The Whistles and Reed Instruments of the American Indians of the North-West Coast," Proceedings of the Musical Association, 29th sess. (1902-1903): pl. I, fig. 1a.