Miniature Panpipe
Unknown Artist
11th–12th century
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)
Classification
Metal-Musical Instruments
Culture
Chancay
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, 1964
Accession Number
64.228.204
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate **Miniature Panpipe**, from silver by an unknown Chancay artist in the 11th–12th, offers a glimpse into the refined metalworking traditions of ancient Peru's central coast. Measuring just 1 7/8 inches (4.8 cm) high, this tiny instrument from the Chancay culture—ourishing in the Chancay Valley near modern Lima—features a series of slender tubes of graduated lengths, bound together in the classic Andean panpipe design. Now housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, 1964), it exemplifies the ...