Textile Fragment

c. 50–650 CE

Peru, Moche, north coast

View all records in artwork set

Medium

cotton and camelid fiber

Measurements

Overall: 40.6 x 30.5 cm (16 x 12 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 2007.2.4

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

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.