whistle;
toy
- Museum number
- Am1978,15.497
- Description
-
Toy whistle; made of varnished pottery; in the form of mermaid with fish; round base painted green with white stripes; mermaid's hair and eyes painted black, lips red, skin beige, tail burgundy with white stripes on flippers; holds grey fish with white stripes in both hands; bird on base next to mermaid, painted yellow with black spots, hole in tail for mouthpiece, hole on back to expel air.
- Production date
- 1970s
- Dimensions
-
Height: 13 centimetres
-
Width: 8.50 centimetres
-
Depth: 12.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- For a long time, there has been a tradition of toy-making in Ocumicho. In the decades following the time this object was collected, toys got larger and more elaborate (see 1988 Am8.394, 1990 Am 8.155-6 for comparison). Whistles such as this were not specifically created for the Day of the Dead Festival, but were often sold at fairs like La Feria de la Cañada in the run-up to the Day of the Dead Festival.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1977-1978, London, Horniman Museum
- Acquisition date
- 1978
- Acquisition notes
- Objects collected during the 1970s by Chloë Sayer and Marcos Ortiz. They were exhibited in 1977-1978 at the Horniman Museum, and later acquired by the British Museum.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1978,15.497
