Courting Whistle
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The slender elongated form of this single-note whistle terminates in the shape of an abstract, long-beaked bird, identified as either a snipe or sandhill crane. The bird’s minimalistic portrayal radiates with life. Its beak is open, as though calling to a mate, and brass-tack eyes glimmer atop the black painted face. In Plains courtship, young men often played flutes to attract the attention of women.
Artwork Details
- Title: Courting Whistle
- Date: ca. 1830
- Geography: United States, Minnesota
- Culture: Santee Dakota (Eastern Sioux)
- Medium: Wood, birch bark, sinew, pigment, brass tacks
- Dimensions: Length: 36 1/2 in. (92.7 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Musical Instruments
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum, New York, Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund (50.67.91)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing