The person in Shanghai who sold this object to us claimed that it is a bird whistle and that it was used to lure back pigeons. We tried it and indeed were able to make some whistling sounds but we are not sure if it was used for luring back pigeons or for mimicking sounds of other birds. There is another one in our collection but this one is made of ‘paktong’ instead of silver (see Quick Find 4241) and forms part of a grooming kit. These ‘bird whistles’ remain interesting and unusual objects and this one dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 - 1947). Length 4.7 cm. Width 1.9 cm. Height 1.3 cm.