The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 22, 2025
Whistle
late 1800s
Overall: 5.7 x 3.2 cm (2 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.)
Educational Purchase Fund 1915.442
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
This whistle is the first piece from sub-Saharan Africa acquired by the CMA.Description
Carved out of ivory or wood in a variety of shapes, Chokwe whistles often bear miniature, stylized renderings of masks. Cikunza, the "patron saint" of the boys' initiation into manhood, is depicted with a pointed extension imitating the horn of a road antelope, symbolizing the fertility spirit. Typically such whistles were used by men during the hunt to communicate with their co-hunters and to call their dogs. They were either worn attached to a string as a necklace or tied to a spear.- Materials of the Artist. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-December 12, 1958).Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland Museum of Art Educational Extension display, Cleveland, OH, 1931. https://digitalarchives.clevelandart.org/digital/collection/p17142coll1/id/4239/rec/2
- {{cite web|title=Whistle|url=false|author=|year=late 1800s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.442