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Quadruple duct flute
Veracruz
Late Classic period
AD 550–950
Object Place: Veracruz, Mexico
Medium/Technique
Earthenware with traces of white stucco and blue pigment
Dimensions
Overall: 18.5 x 27 x 29 cm (7 5/16 x 10 5/8 x 11 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Timothy Phillips in honor of Dennis Carr
Accession Number2019.1991
CollectionsAmericas, Musical Instruments
ClassificationsMusical instruments
DescriptionThis four-pipe duct flute is modeled with a long-snouted, iguana-like mythical being with an erect tail composed of five long feathers and a human figure emerging from below the animal's head and between its clawed feet. The two large flanges feature a molded-carved image of a feline, perhaps a jaguar, and the four pipes terminate in renderings of vultures.The ducts merge into a single mouthpiece, which allows them to be sounded at once. The discordant tones produced are very high and shrill, while loose clay cylinders inside each tube create a slight warbling quality, all of which could generate psycho-acoustical effects in the brain. Multiple-pipe flutes are played today by Veracruz's famous "Voladores" pole dancers/flyers who imitate birds in their "flight" down the pole, their instruments imitating bird calls. This unique ritual has ancient origins in rites of rain-bringing and the spring planting season, and the similarity in sound between the modern flutes and this ancient instrument suggests it may have been played during similar ritual events.
ProvenanceAbout 1973, sold by Edward S. Merrin Gallery, New York, to Sherman Sackheim (b. 1921 – d. 2001) and Paula S. Sackheim (b. 1930 – d. 1982), Larchmont, NY [see note 1]; passed to their estate [see note 2]; by 2015, sold by the family of Sherman and Paula Sackheim to Anthropos Gallery, Los Angeles; 2015, sold by Anthropos Gallery to Timothy Phillips, Boston; 2019, gift of Timothy Phillips to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 11, 2019)
NOTES:
[1] Undated shorthand notes on Merrin Gallery letterhead, provided by the Sackheims, describe the flute and give a sale price. A teller’s check shows that payment was made for this object, at least in part, in 1973. [2] The estate of Paula S. Sackheim first lent the flute to EPCOT Center in 1984; it remained on loan there until about 2008.
NOTES:
[1] Undated shorthand notes on Merrin Gallery letterhead, provided by the Sackheims, describe the flute and give a sale price. A teller’s check shows that payment was made for this object, at least in part, in 1973. [2] The estate of Paula S. Sackheim first lent the flute to EPCOT Center in 1984; it remained on loan there until about 2008.
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