Pigeon flute; gourd with 15 bamboo pipes on rectangular base; dark brown; ivory tongue for tail base; Length 5 cm, width 3.3 cm, height 3.7 cm. According to some writers, flutes were attached to message-carrying pigeons to frighten away hawks and eventually came to be used by pigeon fanciers to lure away another fancier’s pigeon or flock in order to increase their wealth and status. According to Berthold Laufer, the flutes were used for the aesthetic value of their music. Makers in this collection include: HUNG, CHUNG, KUEI, MING, PAN, SHIH-TZU (?), SHENG, LI.
Donor:
Estate of James Pomeroy Howe
Collection place:
Beijing, Beijing municipality, Northern China
Verbatim coll. place:
Peking, China
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Pigeon flutes
Function:
5.6 Sports, Games, Amusements; Gambling and Pet Accessories
Accession date:
1970
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Loans:
S1974-1975 #4: University Art Museum (UC Berkeley) (July 19, 1974–February 7, 1975), S1974-1975 #67: Civic Arts Center (Walnut Creek) (February 5, 1975–May 7, 1975), S1986-1987 #9: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 13, 1986–June 9, 1988), S1988-1989 #11: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 4, 1988–January 8, 1991), S1995-1996 #6: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 4, 1995–August 30, 2000), S2001-2002 #5: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 16, 2001–October 26, 2001), S2002-2003 #7: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 23, 2002–October 27, 2002), and S2003-2004 #3: Howe Homestead (City of Walnut Creek) (October 24, 2003–October 26, 2003)