Peru
Moche Culture

Pottery, pigment
ca. 500 to 700 CE
Height: 10 in; Width: 3 in
Aerophones – Wind Instruments Proper – Lip Vibrated

A Pre-Columbian pottery trumpet from the Moche culture, ca. 500 to 700 CE., in northern coastal Peru.  This pottery trumpet has an anthropomorphic figure that forms the bell.  It is hand built from a red terracotta and painted with black and white details. The figure represents an elite member of the warrior class, dressed in full armor, and clutching a club to his chest. He wears a pectoral, chin strap, bracelets, and ear spools. His conical headdress forms the lower part of the twisted trumpet mouthpiece. The base of the cylindrical body is opened to emit the trumpeting notes. The note pitches are controlled entirely by the player’s lips for ceremonial use, which may have imitated bird calls.