Clay and Paint
6" x 4" x 2" large, 2.5" x 2" small
Kempele

Thanks to Ikea, most everyone knows the ubiquitous Dalahäst, the Swedish Horse, but does anyone know anything about the Finnish Rooster? Rooster, you ask why, I don't know why, but why not? The sun shines in Finland a quarter of the year for most of the day and a quarter of the year it barely shines at all, maybe as a result the Finnish rooster has it tough so to honor him Finland made it their national charm? The rooster is a clay whistle and based on a musical instrument called an ocarina. The Mayans and Aztecs produced versions of the ocarina and Cortés brought them to Europe. This explains the similarity this whistle has to our Mexican clay whistles. (See Mexico) Something really interesting is the Dalahäst pattern resembles the pattern on the dolls from Mexico and the rooster is based on the ocarina, also derived from Mesoamerica, perhaps there is more of a connection between Scandinavia and Mexico then we realize? Or maybe than I realize...