↗Central Andes (Peru), Recuay people · 1–700 CE
Architectural Vessel
Creator not recorded
John L. Severance Fund · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Chavín style · 500–200 BCE
Two Textile Fragment with Fanged Heads
Creator not recorded by the museum
- Date
- 500–200 BCE
- Medium
- cotton: plain weave patterned by fiber-wrapped warps and supplementary wefts
- Dimensions
- Overall: 112 x 61.2 cm (44 1/8 x 24 1/8 in.); Mounted: 123.8 x 72.4 cm (48 3/4 x 28 1/2 in.)
- Country / context
- Peru
- Movement / tradition
- Andean arts
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- Andean arts ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
These two rare fragments of equal size and mounted side by side feature fanged heads connected by a fanged mouth band. Each band ascends as a column above a rectangular, disembodied eye that implies the original presence of large figures or heads beneath the bands. Fanged heads are common markers of the supernatural in Chavín art, an early style that developed in the highlands of Peru. The original textile may have served as a ceremonial wall hanging.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.