**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Nayarit culture, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. Two adorable hybrid humanoid/canine terracotta whistles from this shaft tomb culture. First, a small puppy-sized dog with four nub-shaped legs, a hollow body, an enlarged head facing skyward with a human expression, its mouth agape, and a broken whistle spout where the tail should be. Second, a large dog with short legs, a broken tail, a two-chambered hollow body and a sizeable head with Olmecoid double drilled pupils embellishing the eyes and large brows. While the whistles are no longer functional, the presentation of both dogs singing to the sky emanates a silent cacophony all their own! Size of the smaller dog: 2.25" L x 1.2" W x 1.875" H (5.7 cm x 3 cm x 4.8 cm); Size of the larger dog: 3.375" L x 1.75" W x 2.6" H (8.6 cm x 4.4 cm x 6.6 cm).

Provenance: Whisnant Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, acquired over twenty years ago

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#123421

Surface wear commensurate with age, minor wear to legs, some stable fissures, and mineral and manganese deposits. Loss to whistle spout area on smaller figure, and minor losses to larger figure.