Pan flute

The Nasca culture of southern Peru (200 BC–AD 600) is known for its colourful, thin-walled ceremonial ceramics. Especially noteworthy are the pan flutes made of clay, which are extremely difficult to produce. These instruments possess an impeccable sound quality, for which the length of the individual pipes is decisive. To achieve the desired acoustic quality, the makers had to have a precise knowledge of the characteristics of the clay, as the material shrinks during firing. The walls of the flutes are usually little more than one millimetre thick. The decorative painting on the flutes seen here shows a creature that is typical for the Nasca culture: it is a mythical being with a cat-like head and its body clothed in a white tunic. The illustrations on the ceramics often relate mythical stories or show scenes from religious life.