Trumpet

Unknown

ca. 400–700 · Pottery, polychrome · Musical Instruments

Trumpets of various materials existed throughout the Americas prior to contact with European societies. Trumpets made of pottery, such as this example, coexisted with those of other materials such as bone, horn, and gourd. The Museum's example has the familiar tube shape flaring into a bell incised at the rim. The mouthpiece flares to facilitate the proper embouchure. Pre-Columbian musical instruments reveal a high degree of technological sophistication in their production. The purpose of trumpets and the status they held in their cultures are not known, but trumpets are depicted in pre-Columbian art in the context of celebrations or rituals for kings and gods. Description: A thin, slightly conical, clay tube with cup-shaped bell decorated with incised edge, conical integral mouthpiece and three ridges near bell end; entire object painted white with traces of red and yellow on ridges. (J. Kenneth Moore, 2015)

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 400–700

Medium

Pottery, polychrome

Culture

Teotihuacan

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Purchase, Gift of Elizabeth M. Riley, by exchange, Eugene M. Grant Gift, and funds from various donors, 2002