Double Chambered Whistling Vessel
This pre-Colombian double-chambered whistling vessel from the area of present-day Peru creates a whistling sound when filled with water.
The first chamber has a "blind spout" or closed-off spout often fashioned in the form of a bird or animal. When water is tipped from the normal open spout chamber to the chamber with the blind spout, air is forced out of a small hole in the blind spout, producing a whistle. The tone or pitch of the whistle changes with the water level. The whistle often sounds bird-like.
This whistling vessel was brought back from Peru by International Oil Driller Charles Wallen in the early 20th Century.
To learn more about artifacts similar to this one visit the University of Mexico's Maxwell Museum and The Met Museum's sites.