Courting flute (siyotanka)
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- 18 3/4 × 1 1/4 × 2 3/8 in. (47.6 × 3.2 × 6 cm)
- Origin
- Native American (Sioux)
- Department
- Musical Instruments
- Holding institution
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image provider
- metropolitan-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Art Genome Taxonomy
10 tags
Artistic Disciplines
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Music Both · 99%
The catalog identifies the object as a flute in the Musical Instruments department, and the image clearly shows a wind instrument with a tubular body and finger holes.
Subject Matter
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Related to Music Both · 99%
The title and classification identify it as a courting flute, while its form is visibly associated with music-making.
Visual Qualities
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Geometric Visual · 86%
The object combines a cylindrical shaft, squared terminal block, rectangular attachments, and a projecting upper form with clearly rectilinear and tubular geometry.
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Patterns Visual · 90%
Repeated horizontal bands appear near the upper body, and the squared terminal block bears repeated incised floral forms.
Time Periods
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19th Century Art Metadata · 94%
The catalog dates the object to circa 1850–1900.
Materials
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Stone Metadata · 98%
Red pipestone, or catlinite, is listed as a material; pipestone is a stone material and forms the dominant red body visible in the image.
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Metal Metadata · 78%
Lead is listed among the materials, although the image does not permit confident identification of the lead component.
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Leather/Hide Metadata · 76%
Native-tanned leather is listed among the materials; a pale binding is visible around the upper attachment, but its material cannot be confirmed from the photograph alone.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Native American, First Nations, and Alaska Native Art Metadata · 96%
The catalog identifies the place of origin as Native American (Sioux).
Antiquities, Artifacts, and Religious Objects
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Musical Instrument Both · 99%
The metadata explicitly classifies the object as an aerophone and flute; the image shows a narrow tubular body with an end-blown upper section and regularly spaced holes.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Courting flute (siyotanka). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.