Winchester College possesses the ocarina below. Watch this short video to learn about the object. An ocarina is playing in the background of the video. Beneath the video I talk about the object's musical and scientific significance.
This ocarina, made by Charles H. Mathieu, in Paris between 1900 and 1930, is in Winchester College's scientific collection. It is 5cm high, 12.5cm wide, and 2.5cm long.
Ocarinas, historically have formed a major part of Chinese and Central American cultures. In China, they formed an integral part of song and dance. European ocarinas were originally brought back from Mesoamerica. 'Ocarina' means 'little goose in the local Bolognese dialect.
The ocarina presents a challenging physics problem to solve. Its non-uniform cross-section and myriad of differing holes make it very difficult to analyse the standing waves within.
Winchester College Collections: http://winchestercollections.co.uk/collection/ocarina
Winchester College's Science Collection: https://www.winchestercollege.org/stories/sharing-our-science-collections
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