Xun

Unknown

206 BCE–220 CE · Pottery · Musical Instruments

Simple globular clay whistles, or ocarinas, were among the earliest wind instruments that required an understanding of how pitch is determined by the relationship between the dimensions of the wind chamber and the placement of the finger holes. Ancient versions have finger holes on one side of the ovoid body; later versions, still used in Sino-derived Korean ritual music, have holes located at the cardinal points around the onion-shaped instrument.

Artist

Unknown

Date

206 BCE–220 CE

Medium

Pottery

Culture

Chinese

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Gift of Joseph G. Gerena, 2005