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Details / Information for Textile Fragment

Textile Fragment

c. 50–650 CE

Peru, Moche, north coast

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Medium
cotton and camelid fiber
Measurements
Overall: 40 x 29.3 cm (15 3/4 x 11 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2007.2.6
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

This fragment is a rare survivor of floods that destroyed much of the Moche textile record.

Description

This fragment, one of several in the collection, is a rare survivor of catastrophic rains that destroyed much of the Moche textile legacy and may have helped to bring about the decline of Moche culture. It depicts a serpent and a snail beneath a hovering raptorial bird—perhaps a snail kite, a type of hawk named after its favored food. The size of the motifs implies that the original textile was large; a mantle (a shawl-like garment) or a hanging are among the possibilities.
A vertical cotton and camelid fiber textile fragment, heavily worn and missing sections, features a central winged creature facing left with prominent talons and a dark brown spiral on its torso. Above the figure, a horizontal band depicts two four-legged animals walking left. A thick, zigzagging line punctuated by circular shapes spans the bottom. The woven motifs in muted tans, browns, and ochre are set against a pale background with frayed, irregular edges.

Textile Fragment

c. 50–650 CE

Peru, Moche, north coast

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