1-234-337 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Bird whistle, Tang/Five dynasties, China, 8th-10th century. Small bird-shaped pottery whistle covered with a dark green crazed alkaline glaze of almost tea dust colour. There are black and pinkish spots on the bird's head, eyes and wings. The glaze stops near the base which reveals the blackish clay of the body. The hollow bird is pierced with two holes for the whistle, one at the side and one in the neck. The piece is probably from the Changsha kilns, where many similar figures were made, although the glaze colours here are unusual.