Flute
Object Label
Quenas, or short flutes like this one made of a gold alloy, are among the most famous Peruvian wind instruments. In Peru flutes are always played by men and have phallic, regenerative, and magical connotations. The caruncle, or fleshy comb over the beak, indicates that the bird on this quena is most likely a condor. The largest bird of the Andes, the condor symbolized power and fertility for pre-Columbian people. The instrument is also decorated with two crocodiles or lizards with a chevron pattern down their backs.
Quenas, o flautas cortas como ésta hecha de aleación de oro, están entre los instrumentos de viento peruanos más famosos. En Perú las flautas siempre son tocadas por hombres y tienen una connotación fálica, regeneradora, y mágica. La cresta, o parte carnosa sobre el pico, indicaría que el pájaro en esta quena es probablemente un cóndor. Al ser el pájaro más grande de los Andes, el cóndor simbolizaba poder y fertilidad para los pueblos precolombinos. El instrumento está también decorado con dos cocodrilos o lagartijas con un diseño en forma de “V” en sus espaldas.
Caption
Chimú. Flute, 1100–1500. Hammered gold, 7 1/2 x 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in. (19.1 x 4.8 x 4.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.22. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Flute
Date
1100–1500
Period
Late Intermediate Period
Medium
Hammered gold
Classification
Dimensions
7 1/2 x 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in. (19.1 x 4.8 x 4.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
86.224.22
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
How old is this art work?
This flute by a Chimú artist is from between 1100-1500, so between 400 and 900 years old. The Chimú empire thrived on Peru's North Coast during this time.Chimú goldworkers from this time were incredibly skilled! The details on this flute, particularly the condors, are absolutely amazing.To create the sounds that each instrument makes, were the actual instruments on display used or were replicas made?
The sounds were sourced from soundtracks of similar types of instruments being played such as Dale Olsen’s Music of El Dorado and Peyote songs from the Smithsonian’s Folkways Records.What is this?
That gold object is a flute, known as a quenas, made by a Chimú artist. In Chimú culture, gold was reserved for elite members of society. This flute would have belonged to a high ranking person.
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